Howl of the Kitsune
by Gaereth
Summary: Forced to choose between entrusting Naruto to the Uchiha or the Hyuuga, Sarutobi searches eagerly for a third option. And he finds it in Konoha's own hounds of war. The tale of Inuzuka Naruto unfolds within... NaruXHarem. NOT SasuXHina, for those who ask.
1. Chapter 1

The Howl of the Kitsune

Chapter 1: The Death of Legend.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any scenarios or characters affiliated with it. I do, however, own the story and any original characters I introduce.

AN: Inuzuka Naruto… It's got a nice ring to it, eh?

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The dark smoke drifted slowly through the night sky, blotting out the stars. The moon, bright and full, pierced the smog and shone down on the broken and ravaged field, showing great rents that marred the earth's surface. Broken and fallen trees were scattered far and wide, their remaining branches reaching out like dead arms, grasping at the sky in final desperation. But worst of all, surpassing the other terrible sights, were the bodies. Broken and maimed, they littered the destroyed field, soaking the ground with their red blood. And, everywhere, were the sounds of the grieving survivors, mourning the loss of their dead comrades.

There, on the far side of the field, was a small gathering of men and women, those who had found the strength of will to control their emotions, to save their grief for a later date. For now, their only thought was for their gallant leader, the man who had stood against a demon and won. They clustered at the feet of the great toad chieftain, who had aided their general in his fight. Every head was craned upwards in a mixture of dread and hope, and all were anxiously silent, each of them pondering the same question: Was their leader still among them? Or was the gallant commander that had won them the victory suffering from terrible wounds, or even...?

But then a shout broke out from the midst of the crowd, a note of hope echoing among the people. With renewed hope, they watched the toad shoot out its tongue, laying it gently on top of its head. Then there was silence again, and the gathered ninja watched in a reverential silence as the tongue was slowly brought down to earth.

The toad's tongue touched the ground gently, and the gathered shinobi felt a shudder of relief. There, standing on the tongue, was their leader, the one and only Fourth Hokage. As one, they began to rush forward, to congratulate him on his victory.

But… there was something about him that stopped him, some aura that hung about him that warned them away, silenced their questions. Their run broke into staggered walking, and then they stopped altogether. Instead, they gazed at their leader with uncertainty, their trained eyes noting the slump of his shoulders and the small bundle he held gently in his arms. A sense of horror and awful dread fell over them once more.

Then, slowly, the Fourth's head began to rise, and they saw his face. They gasped in horror as they saw unspeakable pain written in his eyes, even as his face remained ever in its characteristic grin. The blonde shinobi seemed to look past them, his eyes glazed and unfocused as he wrestled with the agony that tore at him.

Then there was a motion in the crowd, and a lone figure burst through the assembled ranks, sprinting to the Yondaime's side. The ninjas muttered amongst themselves anxiously as they saw the former Hokage stop next to the Fourth, noting that the battle armor that he had worn in his prime was gracing his person once again.

Then, there was a hushed silence. The Sandaime reached out to touch the Yondaime, but suddenly the Fourth snapped out of his trance, warning Sarutobi away with a quick bark. But, even as his moment of anger vanished, his face softened, and the pain began to fade from his eyes. He held out the bundle to the Third, grinning widely. The Sandaime took it reverently, his eyes focused on the glazed eyes of his successor. Then, slowly, the Fourth spoke, his voice so hushed that none save the Sandaime could understand his words. Then, slowly, so slowly, the Fourth toppled forward, his face frozen into his trademark grin. His body fell to the ground, and with it fell the single greatest shinobi to ever walk the earth.

The Yondaime Hokage was dead.

Again, there was a long silence, except that this time it was one of horror and disbelief. Then, a cry of anguish tore through the crowd, and the massed shinobi surged forward, intent on reaching the body of their leader, hoping that somehow, someway, they could save him yet. But, before they got within ten feet, the Sandaime's head turned towards them with a snap, his eyes filled with a fire that they had not seen in over a decade. The veterans, those who knew those eyes and had served under the warrior to whom they belonged, flashed to the front of the crowd and pulled out their kunai, intent on stopping the flood of shinobi from going any further. After a moment of confusion, the Third took charge of the situation, his powerful voice ringing out above the noise of the crowd.

"SILENCE!" Immediately, all motion ceased, and silence reigned in the field. The Sandaime, his strong spirit shining through his mild persona, turned away and knelt next to the body of his successor, resting a hand on his back in silent reverence. Then, carefully, he rolled the corpse of the Yondaime Hokage over, so that his eyes gazed unseeing into the smoky night sky. The Third smiled despite his grief as he saw the grin that the Yondaime wore, cheerful even in death. Then, in a final act of farewell, he brushed his wrinkled hands across the Fourth's unseeing eyes, closing his eyelids. As those azure orbs were locked away forever, he heaved a sigh of unimaginable sorrow and stood up, the small bundle still held in the crook of his left arm. He turned and faced the crowd of ninja that stood in despair, not wanting to believe that this had just happened.

"The Yondaime Hokage… has passed away." His voice was solemn and low, but it carried across the crowd, bringing tears to their eyes. Some of them were sad that he had died, while others were ashamed that they had not done more to help him. But, no matter their reasons, there was not a one of them whose eyes were not brimming with tears, war-hardened shinobi or not. Even in the determination-filled eyes of the Sandaime, a single tear could be seen slowly inching down his cheek. But, despite his sorrow, he forced himself to continue, determined to fulfill the Fourth's final wish.

"He sacrificed himself to defeat the Kyuubi no Yoko, to end its reign of terror. But, my friends, there is something that you do not know." A startled murmur began to spread through the crowd, and they gazed with shock at their Hokage, their bloodshot eyes open wide in wonder. "The Kyuubi is not dead." This time, there was horrified silence, then an explosion of words. No two words could be made out, but it was obvious that there was rage and denial in their minds and hearts. Had their Hokage died for nothing? How could the demon still live? These questions, and so many more, were shouted at the Third Hokage, the shinobi who spoke them stunned and horrified.

The Sandaime allowed them a moment to express their emotions, then raised his hand in a silent demand for silence. That tiny gesture was enough to silence the entire crowd, and instantly their words died away into nothing. After a long pause, the Third began to speak once more, his voice filled with quiet strength.

"As I said, it is not dead. But it is no longer quite alive, either. It has been sealed away, locked inside the most powerful container possible." Stunned silence blanketed the area, with the shinobi unable to understand the words of their Hokage. The Sandaime looked down at the small bundle in his arms and sighed deeply before presenting it to the crowd of ninja. "Here, my friends! This is your savior! That which keeps the Kyuubi imprisoned, that which allows us to once more live our normal lives, free from fear. Here is your hero, the living sacrifice that has saved our village!" With a dramatic flair, he unwrapped the bundle partially, showing to the crowd the face of their savior.

The ninjas leaned forward, their eyes skeptical and surprised. There, held aloft in the Third's arms, was a small child, obviously new born. Even though he was only recently arrived in this world, he bore a mop of unruly blonde hair, and his blue eyes stared at the gathered shinobi with childlike curiosity. Then, and only then, was there a reaction. From the back of the crowd, there was a loud shout of protest.

"WHAT?" And there, storming his way through the crowd to stand in front of the Hokage, was Hyuuga Hiashi, with his brother, Hizashi, in tow. These two men stood side by side, glaring at the Hokage with a strange animosity. "You say that this child contains the Kyuubi? You say that our Hokage sacrificed himself, so he could spare a demon?" Sarutobi's eyes widened, and he pulled the child towards him protectively.

"What are you talking about, Hiashi? This child is our savior! He's keeping the fox impris-"

"WRONG!" Hiashi broke into the Sandaime's sentence with practiced ease. "The Yondaime may have thought he was sealing it away, but I know better! Sarutobi-sama, you, of all people, know that these eyes of mine can see all. And, right now, I see nothing more or less than a demon, weak and frail, which will bide its time and wait patiently until an opportunity to kill us presents itself!"

The Sandaime stared in shock at Hiashi, nonplussed by the force of his anger. "You… You lie! I know the seal that the Fourth used, and I know its strength and purpose! This is not the demon, it's just a boy!"

"Oh? And how can we know that?" Here, Hiashi turned away from the older ninja, turning towards the crowd that stood near. "Is there any way to prove that this is but a child, and not the demon guising itself as such? Or, even if the child be truly what it is, can anyone prove to us that the demon has not infested its mind like a parasite? No, there is no one, not a single man that can step forward and speak with certainty. All we have is the word of a dead man." Here, Hiashi had made his first mistake. The Fourth was loved by all who had served with him, and most Konoha ninja, especially those of his generation, worshiped him with a near fanatic devotion. For Hiashi to slur the name of their dearly beloved leader by stating that he could have been mistaken was a crime that bordered on sacrilege. However, with his customary quick thinking, the Hyuuga official realized his slip of the tongue, and quickly worked to remedy his position.

"No, my friends, I did not mean any dishonor to the Fourth. No doubt he did everything within his power to rid us of this beast, and he deserves the highest praise for his heroic actions and deeds. But, after all is said and done, he was, like us, only human. To be human is to err, and, in this case, a single error could mean the destruction of our entire village. Can we risk our lives, the lives of our loved ones, the fate of our entire way of life, on the judgment of a single man, even if it was someone as great as the Yondaime?" His words had done the trick, causing the gathered shinobi to whisper among themselves questioningly, and a smile of triumph flashed across his face.

But Sarutobi was not about to let him go unchallenged. "Yes! We can trust the fate to our village to one man! That is the fate and purpose of a Hokage: to lead his people down the road he deems best. Are you inferring, Hyuuga Hiashi, that the Hokage's decisions were incorrect?" For a moment, the pale-eyed noble looked taken aback, not expecting such a clever riposte. However, his brother Hizashi stepped forward, lending his brother his skill with words.

"Not at all, Sandaime-sama. However, my brother and I love this village, and we are always on the lookout for threats to its well-being, just as you and all those gathered here do. In this case, we are not questioning the judgment of Yondaime-sama, rather, we are merely trying to ensure the safety of Konoha." For a moment, he paused, carefully considering his next words. Then, with a finger extended towards the sleeping boy, he spoke again, his voice low and earnest. "If that boy holds within him the demon fox, which has done so much damage to so many people, is it not good… nay, is it not _just _to rid this earth of him once and for all, so that the souls of those it has slain may be put to rest?"

Sarutobi was taken aback once more, and he heard the whispers of his shinobi. He knew then that the tide had turned, and that the mob had turned against him. He cursed silently, angered that Hizashi had thought to play on the bereavement of the shinobi, each of which had lost family or friends to the Kyuubi's rampage. He wondered for a moment whether Hiashi was truly interested in the welfare of the village, or if this was just the beginnings of some kind of power play. But, even as he opened his mouth to reply as best as he could, he received unexpected help.

"You are wrong, Hizashi-san." A tall man stalked out from the depths of the crowd, his face concealed behind a high collar. But Sarutobi knew the voice, and so did the Hyuuga twins. Crossing the empty area to stand beside the Sandaime, Aburame Shibi raised his head, his eyes concealed by the tinted shades he constantly wore. His voice was deep and quiet, yet it carried well, so that all could hear plainly what he had to say. "By your logic, it would, indeed, be just. However, by that same logic, each of us here tonight should die as well. There is not a one of us who has not spilled innocent blood, who has not assassinated simply because they were paid to do so. No, Hizashi. If we kill this child, and the demon he holds, we must die as well." Hizashi bowed his head in defeat, knowing that his words had been turned against him by one whose life revolved around logic. But, though he was content to lose this argument, there were others who remained unconvinced.

"Shibi, you're a fool!" His loud voice echoed strangely as Uchiha Fugaku shoved his way through the crowd, standing near, but not too close, to the Hyuuga twins. As he stared at Shibi, his eyes blazed with the power of his Sharingan, and the three tomoe seemed to turn slowly. "I don't know about what's 'just' or 'unjust', but the fact still remains that this demon is still alive! As a simple shinobi, I fail to see the purpose of leaving your enemies alive, so that they can slit your throat while you're sleeping! As much as I hate it, I have to side with the Hyuuga on this. The boy has to be killed, and the demon destroyed." He finished with a glance at Hiashi, who was glaring at him. There was no love lost between the two Noble clans, but sometimes it was wise to join forces.

After Fugaku had finished his little speech, there was a bark of outrage from the back of the crowd. "Shut the fuck up, you little shit!" The Uchiha patriarch turned about, looking for the source of the insult. He didn't have to look long, since it was coming straight at him. Bursting out of the crowd, and baring her teeth in a feral fashion, was Inuzuka Tsume, striding directly towards Fugaku. Close behind her, padding along with raised hackles, came Kuromaru, her familiar and faithful partner.

She came to a dead stop just in front of Fugaku, her clawed hands twitching out of a desire to strike. She settled for a verbal assault, her words filled with outrage. "You little bastard! Don't you _dare _try to act against the Hokage, or else I'll have those eyes of yours roasted on a spit! And you, you white-eyed freak, you're just as bad! What, you think you can just say whatever the fuck you want, just because your clan is the biggest bunch of brown noses I've ever seen? You people make me sick!" She spat on the ground in front of the three 'noble' shinobi, then shoved her way past them and took up a fighting stance next to the Hokage.

Hiashi and Fugaku stared at her with rage written plainly on their features, while Hizashi bowed his head in shame, knowing full well the truth of her words. But the other two were unwilling to admit it, and Hiashi drew himself up, staring at her with every ounce of aristocratic superiority he could muster. "You little bitch! How _dare _you speak that way to me? I am Hyuuga Hiashi, Clan Head of the mighty and noble Hyuuga family!" Tsume merely scoffed at him, and Kuromaru gave a gruff laugh.

"Whatever, you goddamn prick! I'll say what I want, to whoever I want, and as much as I want! Got a problem with that, shithead?" Hiashi growled, crouching down into a fighting stance and preparing to annihilate the smart-mouthed bitch that had dared to insult him. But before he could press the assault, he felt his body stiffen uncontrollably, unable to move a muscle. Then, from the shadows around him, a voice made itself heard.

"Kage Shibari no Jutsu… Success…" Hiashi gasped and activated his Byakugan, using his 355° vision to find his attacker. There, in the shadows off to his left, stood Nara Shikaku, his hands still in the Rat seal that had activated his specialty technique. But Hiashi was not alone. As soon as Hizashi realized the predicament that his brother was in, he leapt at Shikaku, intent on disabling the jutsu that bound Hiashi by knocking the shadow-user out cold. But, before he could go far, a giant hand plucked him out of the air and gripped him tightly, holding him firmly despite his thrashing. From beside Shikaku, another voice rang out, deep and loud.

"Now, now, Hizashi-san… If you beat up Shikaku, who's gonna pay for my supper?" The shadow-user grinned for a moment and then groaned loudly, directing a despairing glance at his long-time friend, Akimichi Chouza.

"I never said I'd pay for you! Tch, how troublesome this is…" Chouza grinned at his lazy friend's retort and enlarged his other arm, grabbing the bound Hiashi in his immense grip.

Uchiha Fugaku watched in consternation as his temporary allies were quickly and easily confined, and began to settle into an attack stance of his own, Sharingan spinning as he prepared for combat. Then, he felt his body begin to move on its own, and soon found himself mooning the collected shinobi. As his mind revolted at the thought of his body doing such a thing, a mischievous laugh could be heard from in front of him, the treble laugh of Yamanaka Inoichi.

"Shinranshin no Jutsu… such a handy thing to have. Whether you're turning an enemy against his friends, or embarrassing everyone's least favorite Uchiha, it comes through every time!" Another laugh at the Uchiha's plight echoed across the clearing, and was picked up by a few of the ninja in the crowd, the one's who bore a particular dislike for the Uchiha clan for one reason or another. Chouza, Inoichi, and Shikaku all exchanged glances, each of them pleased with the success of their formation.

But, the carefree attitude of the three friends was soon shattered. With a burst of chakra from their tenketsu, Hiashi and Hizashi forced Chouza to drop them, and they prepared themselves for battle. Fugaku, concentrating hard, managed to throw off the influence that Inoichi had cast upon him, breaking himself free of the psychic technique. After once more covering the prominent Uchiha ass with his pants, he turned and began to flash through hand seals, preparing to roast the Ino-Shika-Cho trio with all the strength he could muster.

"STOP!" Everyone froze as the Sandaime Hokage roared out his command, his voice echoing far and wide. Once he had everyone's attention, he turned furious eyes to towards the two Hyuugas and the lone Uchiha. "There will be no fighting amongst ourselves. Anyone who so much as _touches _another shinobi out of violence will have his career, and his life, come to an untimely end. Am I perfectly, one-hundred percent, crystal clear?" Under his ferocious gaze, the combatants let go of their anger, and the Ino-Shika-Cho triad gathered by the Sandaime Hokage, exchanging high-fives with a snickering Tsume.

Hiashi bowed solemnly to the Sandaime Hokage, despite his considerable anger at being manhandled by the Akimichi clan head. "As you say, Hokage-sama." Hizashi bowed as well, mumbling an apology, while Fugaku merely turned away and nodded briefly, his fury still obvious.

Sarutobi sighed a little, unable to understand why grown shinobi could still act like prepubescent children. "Good. Now, Hizashi, I understand what you say, but Shibi-kun has an excellent point. Hiashi, I have every confidence in the ability of the Yondaime as a seal master, and I am positive that the seal cannot be broken or tampered with. And you, Fugaku, must understand that this boy is not an enemy. If anything, he is a protector, someone with the power to defend this village. Therefore, I have decided that the child will not be killed, and will remain in Konoha until I or my successor decree otherwise. That is final, Hiashi. I will brook no argument." The Hyuuga nobleman had started at the Hokage's decree, but had subsided again, knowing that the Hokage would not relent on this point. But, that was not the only way to accomplish his goal…

"Very well, Hokage-sama. However, there is one thing that I wish to know. Will the civilians be told about the Kyuubi's fate?" Sarutobi winced, hearing the question that he had hoped wouldn't be asked.

"I would like to keep this matter confidential. Therefore, this information will only be known by those who where at this battle, and the passing on of this knowledge will be punishable by death. Understood?" Hiashi raised his head, his eyes gleaming as he saw an opening. He let out a sound of protest, catching the Hokage's attention.

"Hokage-sama! I'm afraid I must protest! For the villagers to be left in the dark, for the future generation of Konoha to not know that the Kyuubi walks among them? Is that right, Hokage-sama? People must know that the… _child… _is the vessel for the Kyuubi, and they need to know exactly what happened on this tragic battlefield." Inuzuka Tsume growled again, baring her teeth at Hiashi.

"Bastard! Are you trying to argue with Hokage-sama? I'll rip you a new asshole, you stuck-up pri-" Sarutobi cut her off with a raised hand, and she subsided angrily, glaring at the uptight Hyuuga with murder in her eyes.

"Hiashi… As much as I don't like it, I know that you are right. The villagers must be told the truth." The Hyuuga nobleman smiled, knowing that the Kyuubi would soon be killed by rioting villagers. The Hokage couldn't be everywhere in a village, and, one day, that demon would walk into an alley and not come back out… But the Sandaime wasn't done talking yet. "However, I will not allow the coming generation knowledge of his burden. Only those who are currently old enough to comprehend the magnitude of the situation shall be told, which means an age of ten or higher or of Chuunin rank. That includes the child as well!" There was a murmur of shock at this comment, as the shinobi were surprised that the Sandaime wouldn't even tell the boy what he carried within him. "Furthermore, if someone reveals this information to him or anyone younger than the age specified from this time on, that person will be executed with extreme prejudice and without right to a trial of any sort. That is my decree."

Hiashi frowned as he digested the words of the Sandaime. It wasn't as good as a deal as he had been fishing for, but it was better than he had expected. So, everyone but the newest generation would be told, eh? With the animosity the news was sure to cause, it would be easy to destroy the Kyuubi. Yes, Hiashi would rid the world of a demon, and save his village from impending doom. He swore to himself that he would not rest until the Kyuubi was safely destroyed, and his village at peace once more.

The Sandaime looked from face to face, noting the discontent that showed on nearly every expression. He sighed and looked down at the little bundle in his hands, noting the mop of yellow hair. He thought to himself, _'You are so young to have so many enemies, child. One day, they will understand. One day, they will see you for who you are, not for what you carry. You are not the Kyuubi; you are the savior of the village!"_

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"No! I will not allow it! The boy must not be allowed to run free!" Hyuuga Hiashi's fist smacked into the hard wood of the table, splintering its once smooth surface. Next to him, Uchiha Fugaku looked absolutely livid, and was nodding in agreement to his fellow clan head's words.

"The Hyuuga is right, Sandaime! We need to keep him careful surveillance, for the sake of the village!" Brushing his raven locks out of his face, he crossed his arms and stared at the old man across the table.

Sarutobi sat quietly, slouching in his chair with a look of depression on his face. After the death of his successor, his spirit had taken a powerful blow, one from which it may never completely recover. But, even now, the leaders of the two so-called 'noble clans' of Konoha were bothering him. Couldn't they just leave him alone? It was bad enough he had to deal with the paperwork now…

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the low table, intertwining his fingers to help himself think. "Why do you question my decision? I told you once, and I'll tell you again: the boy is no danger. He will be in an orphanage until he is old enough to take care of himself, and become a shinobi in his own right." Hiashi's face colored, taking on a near-purple hue.

"WHAT! Unacceptable! I have a child on the way, and I will not have my heir in the same class as that… thing!" Sarutobi felt a bit of anger rise in him at Hiashi's choice of words, but he did not have a chance to speak. Fugaku took the floor, his Sharingan blazing.

"I agree! My youngest son, Sasuke, would be forced to take classes with someone like that? No! We cannot allow it to become a shinobi, and we must never let it corrupt our children!"

The Sandaime looked at them both with tired eyes, feeling old and weak. He didn't want to deal with these men, so full of their own agendas and their 'righteous fury'. Heh, it was more fear than anything.

"I will not revoke the boy's right to become a ninja, whatever you say. Every citizen of this village has the right to join our military, and all who show potential are permitted shinobi training. Not most, _all_. And that is the law passed down by the Shodaime Hokage. Besides, your children are in no danger."

Hiashi stood from his seat at the table and leaned forward, closing the distance between the Third and himself. In a low voice that dripped anger, he said "Our children will be in danger, and so will our women, and so will our brothers, and our sisters, and our fathers, and our mothers! As long as the Kyuubi remains alive and well in this village, we are _all _in danger! By allowing it to become a ninja, you only increase its strength, which could lead to another massacre!"

Sarutobi leaned forward and pressed his head against his upturned hands, staring sightlessly at the table. So, that was how it was. No matter how many times he explained it, no matter how many times he told them, they wouldn't believe him. As far as the people of his village were concerned, that blonde child was simply the demon fox, weakened but looking for a chance to slay them all. Would they ever think differently? Would they ever see the boy for who he was? Only time would tell… But he had no more time to think. Hiashi was making his next move, his tone haughty and commanding.

"Very well. We will get no further like this, I see. Therefore, by the power vested in my clan by the Shodaime Hokage himself, I propose a full council." The Hokage started and stared with wide eyes at the Hyuuga clan head, unable to fully believe this sudden turn of events. As the Sandaime processed this new development, Uchiha Fugaku nodded slowly in agreement, a smirk spreading over his lips.

"I agree. The Uchiha side with the Hyuuga, this time. The council must be summoned. Only then can there be a satisfactory decision."

Sarutobi leaned back, keeping his silence for the moment. A council, eh? Clever of Hiashi to think of that. The council was compromised of three main bodies: the Noble clans, the Council of Elders, and the Jounin of the village. The only way to decide something on the council was to take a vote, and the child was not very popular right now. If it came to a full counsel, than Sarutobi would need both the Council of Elders and the Jounin to agree with him. If either one of those two groups sided with the Noble Clans, then they would gain jurisdiction over Naruto's case, and that was unacceptable. But, then again… What were they _really _after? Control over the Kyuubi? The death of the boy? Or perhaps they merely wanted to brainwash the kid, make him into one of their loyal followers. No matter what their reason was, Sarutobi swore to never let them get their hands on the lad, no matter what it took. Right now, he could see only two paths: either find some way to sway the vote of the council, or… bargain.

He cleared his throat and spoke thoughtfully, asking "So, a council… Tell me, Hiashi-dono, Fugaku-dono, just what do the two of you want?"

The two clan leaders exchanged brief glances, then Hiashi addresses the elderly Hokage. "As I said before, Hokage-dono, we seek only to protect the village from the demon fox."

"Oh?" Sarutobi raised a questioning eyebrow. "So that is your reason for preventing him from taking shinobi training. Well, I have a suggestion that may interest you." Hiashi's eyes gleamed with apprehension and hope, praying that the Hokage was indeed saying what the Hyuuga thought he was. Sarutobi continued, purposely looking away from the two noble clansmen. "Earlier, you told me that the boy must be watched carefully and continuously. What if one of the Noble Clans undertook that task?"

Fugaku frowned slightly, glaring questioningly at the Hokage. "And just what do you mean by that?"

The Third Hokage shrugged, then turned away from them, hiding his expression. "What if the boy was formally inducted into a Noble Clan?"

At first, all was silent. Despite his iron control, Hiashi found himself smirking with triumph. This was what he had been pressing for all along! With the Kyuubi under his control, the Hyuuga would once more be acknowledged as the strongest clan in Konoha, and rightfully so! No more would the damned Uchiha parade their prodigies before him, no longer would the Sharingan be considered greater than the Byakugan! He would make the demon a Hyuuga through and through, and then the Hyuuga would be feared and admired for their strength and ability. After all, what other clan in Konoha was able to subdue a Bijuu?

Uchiha Fugaku found himself thinking along similar lines, despite his surprise. Unlike Hiashi, he had not been expecting this, and an offer like this was staggering. The chance to obtain a tailed demon, to control its power, was… A smile spread slowly on his lips as he imagined the kind of power the demon would bring his clan. And there was also the old legend to consider, he thought to himself. Yes, that old tale about how Uchiha Madara had stolen power from the demons and forced it into his eyes, thus creating the Sharingan. If there was some way to steal the Kyuubi's power, and he was the one who discovered it… Even the infamous name of Uchiha Madara would be swept aside, replaced by the name of Uchiha Fugaku! He would be held in greater esteem than the founder of the clan! Come what may, he would, nay, he _must _get his hands on this demon!

The Uchiha clan head stepped forward, his eyes bright with ambition. "I agree with your suggestion, Hokage-dono."

Sarutobi smiled softly. "Yes, I thought you might. And you, Hiashi-dono?"

The white-eyed man was far more cautious and politically savvy than his counterpart, and he spent a long moment examining the offer from multiple angles. Once inducted formally into a Noble Clan, the Hokage would no longer have any say as to what the demon may or may not do. Oh, he still decides what missions the boy can take and such things, but he could not interfere directly with the clan's decisions. He would have total control over the demon.

The more he looked at it, the sweeter the deal seemed to be. But, from all his experience with Sarutobi, he knew that there must be a catch somewhere, somehow. The old monkey was slippery, and he had a way of finding loopholes through things. Yes, it was best to get this agreement in writing and make it public, so Sarutobi couldn't try to pull a fast one on them.

"Before I agree to anything, Hokage-dono, might I request that a formal contract be drawn up, to show that there is no duplicity or misunderstandings?" Sarutobi chuckled lightly, making sure that he would not be heard. That was the Hyuuga for you! Their family motto must be 'Always get it in writing'. Hiashi was obviously expecting a trick of some sort, and wanted to make sure he could examine the agreement from every angle.

"Of course, Hiashi-dono. I will have my clerks draw it up immediately. However, it will take a little time. How about you meet me in the Jounin meeting room in… what, three hours?" Hiashi nodded, making a half-bow to the Hokage.

"Very well. It is agreed, then." Fugaku bowed and voiced his approval as well, and then both clan heads turned and left the room, confident in their victory.

In the now empty room, Sarutobi felt his grin growing and growing. Those arrogant fools had no idea what he had in store! But then a sobering thought came to him, and he felt his good mood leave him. He'd have to convince _her _of his plan, and that would take some doing. As he snapped his fingers to summon one of his clerks, he reached under his desk for a small flask of sake he had concealed there. If he was meeting with _her_, he'd prefer to do it with a bit of alcohol in his system. She was hard enough to talk to without it, and he'd take any support he could get right now.

* * *

"WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU MANGY OLD APE?!"

Sarutobi cringed slightly and cupped one of his ringing ears, praying that the woman hadn't ruined his hearing. She certainly had quite a loud voice. Her shout was still echoing off the walls of her clan's compound. With a wistful thought of that sake bottle under his desk, he turned his attention back to the discussion at hand. Squaring his shoulders and gathering his courage, he stared Inuzuka Tsume directly in the eyes; a feat that many men did not have the bravery to do.

"You heard what I said quite clearly, Tsume. You must adopt the boy. It is the only way."

Inuzuka Tsume was not of long of limb or broad of shoulder, but what she lacked in physical presence she more than made up in her personality. As she stood facing her leader with clenched fists and gritted teeth, she looked like a hound that was straining at the leash. Anger sparked in her slitted eyes, and the Hokage felt a trace of primal fear flash through him.

After a long moment of glaring, Tsume turned her back on the Hokage and spoke harshly, hissing it through clenched teeth. "How dare you… How _dare _you ask such a thing of me!?"

Sarutobi was taken aback. Why was she showing such anger? What had he said to set her off? He spoke tentatively, anxious to avoid another outburst. "Because I must, Tsume. Have I done wrong?"

For a long while, nothing was said. Then, slowly, Tsume turned to face the Hokage, her head bowed and her face shadowed. When she spoke, her voice was cold and quiet, as if she belonged among the dead. "You want me to adopt this boy. To be like a mother to him, is that so?"

The Hokage replied softly, his voice gentle, yet firm. "Not _like _a mother to him, Tsume. I want you to be his mother in the deepest and truest sense of the word."

There was another pause as she digested his words. Then the Inuzuka matriarch slowly lifted her head, revealed bloodshot eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse from her efforts to contain her sobs. "What kind of a mother lets her family die?"

Understanding hit Sarutobi like a thunderbolt. Kami, how could he have forgotten?! Her husband, (insert name here), was dead. He had bled to death on the field of battle, the medics unable to heal him in time after the battle was over. A mere week had passed since the battle, and a little less than that since the mass funeral.

A great shame came over the Hokage, and he bowed his head in grief. They had lost many good men that day, but the survivors of that battle were hurt, too. Those who had not lost family had lost friends, and sorrow reigned throughout Konoha. But he had done nothing, too caught up in his own grief over the death of his successor. And now, instead of consoling this woman in her time of grief, he had merely twisted the knife in her metaphorical wound. What kind of leader did not care for his men? What would his sensei's say?

What would the Fourth say?

Blinking away tears of his own, he stepped forward and laid a sympathetic hand on Tsume's shoulder, his heart filled with grief at her loss. For a long moment, he groped for something to say, but could find nothing. There was nothing he could say that would end her grief or heal the wound. Only Time, the great healer, would bring balm to this woman's suffering.

Time passed slowly, and it was not for another ten minutes that Tsume had regained control over her emotions once more and was able to speak once more. She spoke as if nothing had happened, letting anger drive away the sorrow. "When were you going to get around to telling me just what the hell is going on? Why's it so important that the kid gets adopted, anyways?"

Sarutobi sighed and stepped away from the matriarch, casting his gaze around for somewhere to sit. After all, at his age it was wise to rest the legs now and again. But, no matter how hard he looked, the room was just as it always was; a broad expanse of bare wood, without any furniture whatsoever. He cursed silently beneath his breath. Just his luck, blast it.

Tsume had caught his whispered expletive and allowed herself a quick laugh, divining the reason behind his annoyance. With a casual grace, she seated herself on the wooden floor, inviting him to follow suit. With another 'Oh, blast', the aged Hokage was safely ensconced upon the hardwood floor, sighing in relief as he massaged his aching leg muscles. Tsume watched him in mixed amusement and impatience, but was inwardly glad that he had distracted her from her own problems, even if it was only temporary.

Once he had relieved his aches, he began to explain his dilemma. She interjected with questions quite often, but he eventually managed to get the whole story out. As he finished, he noticed that she seemed to be thinking rather deeply; an uncommon exercise for any Inuzuka.

"So, you're saying that the Uchiha and the Hyuuga are trying to get their grubby hands on the brat, and you don't want that. So… Why did you decide that I had to adopt him?"

Sarutobi sighed, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. Typical of an Inuzuka; they listen, but don't really understand. "Like I said, the only reason they aren't calling a full-blown council, which is risky for both sides, is because I offered to have the kid be inducted into one of the Noble clans. Naturally, they think that means it has to be one of them. However… They are not the only Noble families. Isn't that right, Inuzuka-dono?"

Tsume shook her head and looked away from the elderly man, a strange expression on her face. "Huh. Figures. And here I thought that everyone had forgotten about us."

"Oh, most have, I shouldn't wonder. After all, who would believe that the Inuzuka clan is one of the Noble Clans of Konoha? The very idea just sounds wrong, does it not?"

She grinned slightly, exposing those fangs that were so prominent in her family. "You got that right, old geezer. So you want me to come save your sorry ass, huh? Sounds easy enough… But what's the catch?"

Sarutobi smirked right back at her, pointedly ignoring the insulting remarks. "That obvious, eh? Well, in order to make this happen, I will have to formally recognize you as a noble clan, with yourself as the clan head. It's a mere formality, but… There are certain obligations."

"Like what?"

"Oh, the usual thing. Mandatory attendance of all counsels and at the weekly meetings. Appearance at any important celebration or social gathering. Oh, and you'll-" He got no further than that when she cut him off, her lip curled in disgust.

"Oh, no. Nothing doing, gramps. There was a reason my granddad didn't accept the position, y'know. There ain't no way that you'll get me to do any of that shit. Kami, the kind of crap they make you wear!" She gave a theatrical shudder, and slammed a hand on the ground, her eyes hard and determined. "It's not happening, you old fossil. There ain't anything you can say that'll make me."

Sarutobi sighed and leaned forward, a slight grin coming over his features. "Oh, is that so? What if I said that, if you agreed to do this, I'd stop them from building that new forge out here?" Tsume started in surprise and turned towards the Hokage, her eyes wide and horrified.

"What?! A forge! I didn't hear anything about this! Who the hell wants to build a forge out here, on the outskirts of the town?"

Sarutobi grinned even wider. "I do."

"Since when?!"

"Since three seconds ago. That is, unless you change your mind."

There was a long pause as she stared angrily at him and he twiddled his thumbs innocently. Then, leaning forward slightly, he whispered, "He needs you, Tsume. The Hyuuga would use him and the Uchiha would abuse him. Would you let them dig their claws into an innocent child?"

She hesitated for a moment longer, then gave him an amused stare. "You play dirty, you old bastard."

He shrugged. "I try. Now… Your answer?"

She stared at him for a second or two, then threw her hands in the air with a laugh. "Hell, why not? Damned if I let those pricks get ahold of the kid, and damned if I let them build a fucking forge out here. Ugh, the smell from that place would be _awful_." She contemplated a future in which her house was filled with pungent and foul-smelling smoke, and gave a long shudder. Rising quickly to her feet, she extended a calloused hand to the old man, a smirk on her face. He accepted it and was soon on his feet again, grinning like a kid of twelve.

"So, you'll do it, then?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing. But you owe me one, got it?"

"Of course."

For a long moment, they grinned at each other. But, as his smile changed from joyful to somber, he laid a grateful hand on her shoulder. "Thank you. It must be very hard for you right now."

She lost her smile, but still managed to maintain a cheery voice. "Oh, c'mon, you know me. You won't find a more stubborn bitch this side of hell!" Then, almost in an undertone, she said, "I'll be fine. I just… I miss him."

"You don't need to. He's always with you. As long as you remember him and keep him close in your heart, he will never leave you."

She gave him a stunned look, but then digested his words. Then, she let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Oh, come _on_! Do you actually believe that kind of sappy crap? Get outta here before you start melting all over the floor, you mushy old monkey!" He grinned and turned away, but not before he saw the unspoken thanks in her eyes. His message had gotten through, and that was all he could do. The rest was up to her.

"Fine, I'm leaving. Oh, and remember, come to the Jounin meeting room in about two hours. Okay?"

"Sure, whatever. Now get lost, Kiba's hungry." Sure enough, a loud wail echoed through the room. Unable to suppress a grin, he turned and walked out of the door, tossing a final comment over his shoulder.

"Looks like the kid got your lungs, Tsume. Good luck dealing with him when he hits puberty." As he shut the door behind him, he heard barking laughter echoing through the house he had just left. He smiled and strode down the rode, his heart lifted. She would be fine. She was strong. After all, there's nothing like a baby to take your mind off your own problems.

And, if everything went well, she'd find herself with two infants on her hands.

He stopped dead on the road, a thought having struck him. He had just given her a second child to raise, one that would no doubt be just as loud and as noisy as the rest of the Inuzuka clan, considering the amount of wailing he had done after the battle. One Inuzuka was bad enough. Could Konoha handle two such troublemakers?... He paled. Ye gods, that was a terrible thought.

Well, if there was one thing that could put it out of his mind, it was that flask of blessed alcoholic goodness. He hastened towards the Hokage tower. He had two hours before the meeting, and he intended to be thoroughly braced by the time it rolled around.

* * *

AN: Just thought this up and had to write it. After all, Naruto and Kiba are about the same age and have extremely similar personalities. There's also the fact that Naruto has a kind of pack mentality, like how he protects his teammates and values them above his own life. I've always thought that Kiba was one of the cooler characters in the anime, and this fic is a great excuse to really let him shine. Let me know what you think.

As always, a humongous thanks to JohnnyG, who takes the time to beta my stories. Many thanks, man!

Oh, and the pairing is open right now. It can be a harem for all I care. I just can't wait to go more into the Inuzuka family. And I promise that this story won't slow down my updating speed for Will of Fire. :D

'Til next time,

Gaereth


	2. Chapter 2

Howl of the Kitsune

Chapter 2: Time For School Already? Just Five More Minutes…

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except this story and any OC's I come up with. We good. 

Important AN: **I've opened up a forum** for my stories, which will contain any important polls or discussions pertaining to this story and any of my others. There are more details at the bottom.

Special thanks go to Captain Sancho for keeping me honest and pressuring me to update, despite my inherent laziness. Thanks, man.

* * *

Umino Iruka was having a good day. The sun was shining brightly, driving away any clouds that dared to show themselves. The trees were a glorious shade of green, and their boughs rustled gently as the wind blew through them. His neighbor, who often went out of his way to harass the meek teacher, had greeted him warmly, much to Iruka's surprise. In fact, he thought as he walked slowly down the paved street, this day could hardly get any better. 

After all, it was the first day of school.

Reaching the large gateway that led into the Ninja Academy, the Chuunin instructor paused for a moment, gazing in fondness at the familiar sight of the school. He had spent some very interesting years there. It was the place he had gone to escape from the harsh realities of his empty home. It was the place where he had buried himself in books to take his mind off his pain. And it was the place where he developed a love for knowledge.

And what use was knowledge if one did not share it?

Iruka shook his head softly, knowing that he had to get his head out of the clouds. He was a little late as it was, having seen a young woman in distress. He had stopped to help her, and couldn't resist staying a bit to talk to her. And now his punctuality was paying the price. Ah, well, at least it had been enjoyable. Perhaps he should have gotten her number…?

Catching himself before he could digress further, he stepped forward determinedly, his lips curved in a wide smile. Whistling a jaunty tune, he was soon inside the confines of the building, striding steadily towards his classroom. He looked over the room numbers as he went. Room 1042. 1043. Ah! Room 1044. It was time! A sudden nervous attack threatened to shatter his calm, but he steeled his nerves, opening the door with dramatic flair.

His eyes scanned the room quickly, noting faces and outfits as he strode through the open doorway. Setting his duffel bag of materials down next to the wooden desk, he set his hands on his hips and examined them, inspecting each potential ninja thoroughly. He had only been a teacher for a short time, but already he had discovered that there was a simple way to sort out the real ninjas from the rest: determination. Oh, he valued each and every student, of course; but there were always some students that had that drive, that desire to persevere. Now, as he surveyed this fresh bunch of shinobi hopefuls, he knew that there were a few among them that truly did have that fire, that need. He smiled softly.

Looks like this would be an interesting group.

* * *

Inuzuka Naruto was having a bad day. The sun beat down on him with incredible heat, and there were no clouds in the sky to shade him from that oppressive star. The many trees of Konoha seemed to tower over him, shaking their limbs at him with an annoying buzzing sound that pissed him off to no end. And, to top it all off, he was late to class. In fact, he thought as he sprinted breathlessly down the crowded street, this day could hardly get any worse. 

After all, it was the first day of school.

He growled a little under his breath, pushing himself as much as he could. He and his elder brother, Kiba, had both left at the same time, but now Kiba had pulled a ways in front of Naruto, leaving his younger and blonder brother in his dust. Determined not to lose, he pumped his legs faster, knowing that the school was close. But there was still hope! If he could get to class ahead of his brother, then he could claim the victory, along with the bragging rights!

Just a little further…!

Thanks to his efforts, he was nearly level with Kiba by the time they reached the gate to the school. As they rounded the corner and ran towards the entrance, Naruto got a glimpse of his brother's tattooed face, which was contorted with effort, and found confidence grow in him. He could still win this. By the time they had got through the door, Naruto and Kiba were neck and neck, haring down the hallway at breakneck speeds and scanning the room numbers for the right one. Room 1042. 1043. Yes! Room 1044! As one, they screeched to a halt and reached for the door, each hoping against hope that the other would be too slow.

Naruto, with a final effort, managed to get his hand on the door handle before Kiba. With a triumphant laugh, he opened it and leapt through, ecstatic that he had finally beaten his brother.

"YES! HAHA! I WON! I FINALLY WON! EAT THAT, YOU BASTARD!" He shouted his victory loudly and pranced about wildly, his arms pumping furiously as he displayed his 'incredible' prowess. But there was no way Kiba was going to let comments like that go without dispute. No way in _hell_.

"Screw that! You fucking pushed me, you jerk!"

"WHAT? I did not, asshole! You're just jealous that I won!"

"Yeah you did! You shoved me away from the door right when I was about to win!"

"I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Screw you, Kiba! I won fair and square!"

"Whatever, asshole! You couldn't win a race against a fucking paper bag!"

"HEY! TAKE THAT BACK, YOU JERK!"

"MAKE ME, CHEATER!"

With a roar of anger, Naruto launched himself wildly at his older brother, followed a split second later by Kiba, their faces contorted with rage. In unison, their fist swung back, muscles tense, each preparing to take the other out in one shot. Then, as one, their fists swung forward, accompanied by cries of fury.

_THWACK._

The two boys toppled slowly to the floor, each sharing an identical bump on the noggin, courtesy of a tall Chuunin with a scar across his nose, who had an incredibly satisfied air about him. Cracking his knuckles, the Chuunin scooped up both boy's and held them firmly by their collars, ignoring their struggles entirely. Then, so casually it looked easy, he hoisted each boy into the air and carried them over to the far side of the room, where rows of desks were neatly arranged. Selecting one empty spot near a young boy with black hair, who was sleeping peacefully, he neatly deposited Naruto into the seat. Then, still carrying Kiba, he strode over to the opposite side of the rows of desks and set him down in a chair beside another black-haired boy, this one wearing sunglasses and a heavy jacket. Then, striding quickly back to the center of the classroom, he took an authoritative stance, hands clamped firmly on his hips.

"Listen up! I'm Umino Iruka, your teacher for the next few years! In this class, I'm going to teach you how to become a true shinobi of the Leaf. But every good shinobi learns one thing first: how to obey orders. So, in this class, whatever I say goes." His tone, already stern, took on a slightly darker note, and his eyes flicked back and forth between Naruto and Kiba. "In this class, there will be no talking during lectures, no roughhousing, no cursing and, above all, no insults! Am I being perfectly clear?"

There was a chorus of nods around the room and a few affirmatives, mainly from the intimidated Inuzuka brothers. Immediately, Iruka's whole attitude changed, and a brilliant smile appeared on his face. "Great! I'm sure we'll all get along fine! Now, since I've already introduced myself, why don't some of you do the same? Let's start with our late entries, eh?" He gestured casually at Kiba and Naruto, waiting for one of them to begin. Naruto, always looking for a way to prove his dominance over his brother, leapt out of his seat like a shot and stretched his hand high into the air.

"Me! Me! I'll go!" There was a chorus of giggles from the class which rapidly shushed, and Iruka nodded at Naruto with a grin on his scarred face. The blonde boy began to speak quickly, his voice loud and rambunctious. "My name is Inuzuka Naruto! I'm six years old! I like dogs, playing in the forest, my family, and ramen! My favorite food is ramen, both from Ichiraku's and the kind my sister makes! I don't like people who are mean on purpose, and I don't like having to wait for my ramen! My dream is to have a dog partner of my own one day! Oh, oh, and I really like dogs!" There was another round of chuckles from the class, and Kiba laughed outright.

"You said that part twice, doofus!" Naruto, his temper flaring once again, was about to charge at his brother. However, Iruka's well-thrown piece of chalk changed his mind, and he sat down with another bump on his noggin. However, a second piece had hit Kiba squarely in the chest, and Iruka made a disappointed sound.

"Now, now, Naruto-kun! No fighting in the classroom. And you, sir, no insults! Now, if you must say something, why not introduce yourself?"

Kiba stood to his feet, his shaggy brown hair sticking out wildly in all directions. "Fine. I'm Inuzuka Kiba, and I'm six. I like training with my mom and brother, and I like making fun of my sister. My favorite food is the ramen my sister makes, but not the Ichiraku's crap," Naruto stuck his tongue out at his brother, but Kiba ignored him and continued on, satisfied that his barb had hit home. "Um… I really hate people that talk a lot, especially girls. My dream is that once I get a dog of my own, we'll become the best team in the whole damn village!" Excited by that prospect, he didn't notice the chalk flying at his head until it was too late.

"That was excellent, Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun. Oh, and again: no cursing, Kiba. Okay?" A nod from the boy, and Iruka went on as if nothing had happened. "Alright, let's keep the introductions going! You, in the green shirt; tell us a little about yourself…"

Naruto, tuning out the teacher with skill born from years of ignoring his mom and sister, he began looking around, checking out some of the people he was sitting near. Immediately to his right, a small dark-haired boy was dozing, his face buried in his crossed arms. Naruto prodded him on the shoulder, but got no response. Another prod, harder, and the boy finally made a response, muttering something under his breath as he slowly raised his head, his eyes half shut against the bright light of the classroom.

Naruto leaned closer and attracted his attention with a friendly wave. "Hiya! My name's Inuzuka Naruto. What's yours?"

The dark-haired boy stared at him like he was crazy, blearily blinking his eyes. When he finally spoke, it was no more than a whisper. "Huh? I know who you are. Your introduction was loud enough. Can't you tone it down a little?" after speaking, he turned away with another mutter.

Naruto smile faded a bit, but he kept on going. "Oh, sorry about that. I just was excited, that's all. So, who are you?" The boy didn't even look back, now focused entirely on relaxing and ignoring the loud blonde to his left. Naruto's grin died a little more, then turned into the determined scowl that was so familiar to his mother and siblings. Come what may, he was going to be friends with this boy!

He leaned further over, so that his head was once more obstructing the lazy boy's line of sight. Determined azure eyes met half-lidded dark eyes, and the boy quirked an eyebrow at Naruto. "Don't you know when to leave someone alone? Kami, but you're troublesome…" Dismissing Naruto entirely, he made to go back to sleep, but was interrupted by the blonde Inuzuka.

"I am not troublesome! I just wanna know your name! That's not that hard, is it?" A vein began to bulge in the dark-haired boy's temple. "C'mon, tell me!" Now his left eye began to twitch. "I'm gonna keep on asking until you tell me!" His eyes narrowed as the loud Inuzuka kept talking. "Come _ooonnn_, just tell me your name already!"

That did it. There was no way he could stand to listen to another of whine of the same caliber as _that_ one. Giving in to the inevitable, he turned towards Naruto and shook his head disparagingly, wondering what kind of meds this kid was on to make him so hyper.

"Shikamaru. Nara Shikamaru."

Naruto beamed, glorying in his triumph. "Nice to meetcha, Shika! Can I call you Shika?"

Shikamaru inhaled sharply, but knew better than to argue against this boy. It was like playing tennis with a brick wall; it would go nowhere fast. "Fine. Whatever."

"Alright!" Naruto smile grew even more, making Shikamaru wish he had brought sunglasses. "I think we're gonna be good friends!"

Shikamaru groaned softly, feeling a headache coming on. "Yeah. Sure. Can I go back to sleep now?" Not giving Naruto a chance to answer, he laid his head down on his crossed arms and relaxed, knowing that sleep could not be far off.

"This is great! Class just started, and I'm already getting friends! Wow, I bet this is gonna be a fun class! Don't ya think so, Shika? Oh, hey, I wonder when lunch is! I'm starving! I could really go for some ramen right now! Oh, man, that'd be great! I wonder what Mom is up to? Hey, who's that kid over there? Shika? Who's that? Do you know? I don't know. Do you know? Shika? Shika..? Whoa, check it…"

Shikamaru groaned a little louder, suddenly realizing it wouldn't be as easy to go to sleep as he had first thought. Vainly trying to stopper his ears against the constant flow of words, he nevertheless found himself grinning. Whether he wanted to or not, he found himself liking this kid, even though he had a tendency to talk way too much. Maybe being friends with this kid wouldn't be as troublesome as he first thought. In fact, there were quite a few people in this class who might be worth the trouble of talking to. The Uchiha boy, for example. If he was anything like his elder brother, it could be advantageous to be on amicable terms with the lad.

As Shikamaru finally managed to tone out Naruto's constant commentary, he slowly closed his eyes, his keen mind already examining the possibilities this class presented. As he slipped into the blissful serenity of peace, he knew at least one thing for certain.

Looks like this would be an interesting group.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was having a strange day. He had gotten here early, wanting to get a head start on his studies. After all, how could he surpass his brother, Itachi, if he showed up late to class? But, even though he had only been thirty minutes early, he was surprised to find no one else there. Not even the sensei had arrived early. He tried not to let it bother him, but he couldn't repress in irrational feeling that nobody else was taking this seriously. Well, at least he'd be able to get ahead on some studying or something. 

Finally, fifteen minutes later, another person had arrived; a small girl with longish blonde hair, who had stepped into the class, gawked at him, and then had quickly run out again. He hadn't known what to make of that; maybe she was scared of him? But why? He decided not to think about it, moving on to other lines of thought.

But then, not a full minute later, she was back, peering into the room from the hallway. And she wasn't alone. There were three more girls with her, all the same age. Each one was staring at him, ogling him as if they had never seen something like him before. It was mildly disturbing, and Sasuke began to feel more than a little embarrassed, trying to distract himself with studies. However, not even his book helped, since he could hear their muffled whispers from where he sat.

The next ten minutes passed awkwardly, as the girls only got bolder and bolder in their conversation. Two of them had gone up to him, turned red, and then ran off again, causing the Uchiha boy no end of confusion. Women, he felt, were inscrutable, even at this young age. For a minute or so, he had toyed with the idea of talking to them, of finding out why they were acting so strangely. But, after hearing yet another shrill feminine giggle shatter the fragile silence he had been cultivating, he decided against it.

Finally, five minutes before the class was slated to begin, the main body of students began to arrive. The gossiping gaggle of garrulous girls broke up, much to Sasuke's satisfaction, and soon any remaining giggles or chatter was lost amidst the wash of general conversation. Sighing in intense satisfaction, he had finally been able to focus wholly on his book, setting to the task before him without delay. He was deeply embroiled in the age argument of shuriken vs. kunai, finding himself siding with the kunai, when the page he was reading was suddenly cast into shadow. Breathing a sigh irritation, he quickly dog-eared the book and craned his head upward, dark eyes searching for the intruder.

Just beside him, and slightly behind him, stood yet another little girl, about the same age as the others. This one, however, seemed disinclined to speak, preferring to merely stand there and twiddle her fingers. He gave her the old once over, noting the dark hair, the pale features, and the heavy jacket she wore despite the summer heat. Despite himself, he began to grin, blushing as he turned his face away. She was just so… so… Gah, he couldn't think of the word! _Meek_. That was it. Everything about this girl screamed shy and laid back, which made Sasuke feel a kind of bond with her, as she no doubt preferred to be left to her own devices, much like himself.

However, the effect was spoiled when she tried to speak to him, stammering softly as she tried to make her intentions clear. When she finally managed to vocalize actual words, they came out as whispers, mere fragments of words that faded quickly. "Can… Can I… Please…" Again, Sasuke found an amused smirk twitching at the corners of his mouth. But he couldn't laugh at the girl. Not only did he find it endearing as well as amusing, but his mother had always taught him to be polite. And he had an inkling that she wouldn't take it very well if he started laughing at her.

He leaned towards her and said softly, "Can I help you?"

The girl flushed a little, and ducked her head into the neck of her jacket, as if wishing she could just hide there. "Um… I'd… may I… oh…"

Now feeling a bit of pity for the girl, Sasuke tried to decipher the meaning behind her cryptic message. She was standing at the far end of the bench, and her eyes seemed to be directed at the vacant seat next to him. Could it be…?

"Would you like to sit here?"

She ducked her head once again, nodding very slightly.

"Go ahead."

Hesitantly, as if afraid he'd change his mind any second, she slowly lowered herself into the seat, inching into place with the speed of a lethargic snail on a Sunday morning. Once finally situated, she hunched her shoulders and bowed her head, staring firmly at the desk in front of her. The position put her face into shadow, and Sasuke suddenly realized that he hadn't seen her eyes once since she showed up. In fact, if he didn't know better, he'd say that she was deliberately trying to hide her eyes from him. But… why would she do that? Shyness was one thing, but this…?

He examined her for a moment longer, than turned away, tiring of the detective work. Now what was he supposed to do? Like his brother, he had never been skilled in the social niceties, much to his mother's sorrow. He much preferred to be left to his own devices. But, now that this girl was sitting next to him, he felt like he should be saying something, anything, just to fill the awkward silence. As time slowly ticked by, he kept trying to come up with something to say. Once, he thought he had hit on something, but then realized that a discussion on the weather did not rank high on the list of 'Good Conversation Starters'. But what else was there to talk about?

"Um… Excuse me?" The small voice echoed softly in Sasuke's ears, and he nearly sighed in relief. Thanking each and every one of his lucky stars, he smiled at her and quirked an interested eyebrow.

"Yeah? What do you need?"

She turned away slightly, as if ashamed that she had started talking. The tips of her index fingers touched out of nervous habit, and she gulped softly twice. "Um… It… I just wondered…"

"Wondered what?"

"Are… are you an… an Uchiha?" She barely whispered the last bit of the sentence, as if the words she spoke carried some evil or forbidden significance. Sasuke frowned a little, but maintained his cheerful attitude, still trying to be as friendly as he could.

"An Uchiha? Well, yeah. I guess I am. Why do you ask?"

The girl didn't say anything for a long moment, her fingers moving faster than ever as a blush suffused the visible portions of her face. Once more retreating behind the relative safety of her large jacket, she muttered something unintelligible.

Sasuke scrunched up his face, wondering just what she had said. "Huh? Sorry, I didn't catch that."

Taking a deep breath, the girl seemed to wrestle with her shyness for a second. Finally, she said, "My father… he said that I shouldn't talk to… to Uchihas. To you."

"But, you are talking to me," Sasuke replied, displaying his prodigious talent for stating the obvious. "What's the big deal? Does your dad not like us or something?"

Again, the girl clammed shut, exchanging the traditional finger-pushing for the more radical and controversial thumb-twiddling. "I… it's not… well… um… You see-"

Her stammering was cut short as a passing child tripped over someone else's foot, careening into the dark-haired girl. The sudden impact threw her off balance, and she fell over to the side, throwing out her arms to stop her head from slamming onto the seat. Unfortunately, her right hand was flung a little too far, and landed on a particular piece of Sasuke's anatomy with quite a bit of force.

He yelped loudly in pain and bent over, ignoring her stammered apology as he protectively covered the bruised… 'appendage'. His teeth clenched in pain, he cast a hateful glance at the clumsy child who had caused the incident, who promptly fell over again and upset a desk. Meanwhile, the girl was trying, with tears in her eyes, to tell him how sorry she was that she had hit his… well, you know.

Waving off her apologies, he smiled feebly at her, speaking through clenched teeth. "It's… It's okay. It's not your fau-" He broke his sentence off abruptly, suddenly understanding. The girl, in the heat of the moment, had finally looked directly at him, and her eyes were no longer in shadow. There, the light reflecting eerily off them, where the pale white eyes of the Hyuuga clan, the famed Byakugan. The one clan that did not recognize the power of the Uchiha clan.

The one clan he was told to hate.

With a gasp of horror, she ducked her head again, retreating to the far side of the bench. Sasuke didn't say a word, his mind running a million miles a minute. He had always been told, for as long as he could remember, that the Hyuuga clan was imperious and arrogant, that they had let their power go to their heads. Not only that, but he had heard that they would do anything to inconvenience the Uchiha, just because they hated his clan that much. He remembered one time when his father had come home, a little under a year ago, yelling and cussing about how those Hyuuga 'bastards' had been giving him all kinds of trouble while on patrol. They were supposed to be vicious, cruel, and greedy.

But… This girl was obviously a Hyuuga. The dark hair, the eyes, the pale skin; they all marked her as a member of that clan. And yet, she was almost the exact opposite of what he had been told Hyuuga's were like. She was nervous, quiet, and easily flustered; nothing like what he expected. Actually, if anything, she seemed to be almost ashamed of her eyes, rather than flaunting them like so many of the Hyuugas did. It was almost like-

A sharp, throbbing pain from his bruised area elicited a hissed intake of breath, causing the Hyuuga girl to gasp in alarm. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry! Are you bleeding? Do you need some ice? I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Can I help-"

"It's okay. I'm… I'm fine. Really!" She closed her mouth and ducked her head. Again. Sasuke was starting to wonder if this girl was right in the head. What did she think she was, a turtle? "Why do you do that?"

The girl ducked her head more, feebly trying to hide the blush on her cheeks. "I… I'm sorry about… that…"

"I said it's okay. You're a Hyuuga, aren't you?"

"I… yes," she whispered softly, making Sasuke wish that she would speak up for once in her life.

Sasuke leaned back in his seat with a sigh of relief. It was still sore, but the pain was subsiding. For now. "Why did you try to hide it?"

"I… I didn't."

"Oh. Sure," he said loudly, a sarcastic ring in his voice. "I should've known. After all, we've not lost eye contact once this entire 'conversation'." For a moment, he cursed himself, wondering where that had come from. Itachi was rubbing off on him, it seemed. Just peachy.

"Oh." The monosyllable seemed to die in the awkward silence that followed, and Sasuke was beginning to wonder if she would talk at all. Finally, she began to speak, every word sounding as if it was dragged forcibly into the open air. "I… didn't want you to hate me."

His eyebrows made yet another determined leap for the ceiling, and a bit of surprise entered his usually impassive eyes. "Hate you? Why would I hate you?"

"Because… I'm a Hyuuga."

"_Riiight_. The clan of arrogant pricks that can't walk five feet without insulting somebody." She didn't respond to the verbal taunt, merely ducking her head more. _'Kami, does this girl have any spine at all?' _Sasuke found himself thinking wearily. He just didn't know how to deal with this girl. She had no temper at all, she had swallowed his taunts without a single complaint… What kind of shinobi would this girl be? She was weak! Pathetic! Utterly useless in the ninja world!

But… He liked her.

He groaned loudly, sliding limply down his chair until he was nearly horizontal, with only his head sticking up. Why did he like her? He didn't know. There was just something about her that _made _you like her, made you want to be friends with her. Maybe it was because she was just so timid, or because she was always so apologetic, or maybe it was just because she was a different kind of Hyuuga than any he had ever met; but the fact remained that he enjoyed being around her.

He slowly pushed himself back up, wincing as the motion put stress on a tender place. Turning to face her, he saw that she was still 'turtling', as it were. He reached out with both hands and turned her towards him, ignoring the startled squeak she emitted as he did so. Once she was finally facing him, he extended an open hand towards her, one eyebrow quirked in disbelief that he was actually doing this.

"Look, we haven't been properly introduced, have we? I'm Uchiha Sasuke. Nice to meet you."

Hinata stared at his hand for a long moment in utter disbelief, forgetting to even twiddle her fingers. Then, tentatively, she reached out a pale hand, resting it softly in his. "I'm… Hinata. Hyuuga Hinata."

Sasuke closed his fingers around her hand and shook it softly, his mind whirling with sudden enlightenment. This girl was the heir to the Hyuuga main family! The eldest daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi! Oh, what had he gotten himself into?

_Itachi must never know._

_EVER._

The sound of a door sliding open informed him that the teacher was finally making his entrance, so he pulled away from Hinata and fished out another book, determined to start the year off well. But he couldn't help but watch her out of the corner of his eye as she stared at her hand for a long moment, a blush enveloping her pale cheeks. Then, she quickly turned back to her desk, emitting a muffled squeak as she did so. He smiled softly, finding himself suddenly realizing something.

This was going to be an interesting group.

* * *

Noon couldn't come quickly enough for Akimichi Chouji. When the clock finally rang, signifying the midday hour, he was out of his seat and across the room before you could say "Lunch". And now, as he sat contentedly in the schoolyard and gazed at the vast spread of food his mother had packed him, he knew that the torture was over. At long last, he could _eat_. 

He dove into his meal zealously, working through the food with all the vim and vigor at his disposal. His arms moved in a blur as his dexterous fingers selected the choicest morsels and carried them to his mouth, which never stopped moving. Down went the onigiri in a blur of speed. The sushi never stood a chance. The soba noodles bowed to the superior might of his maxillary muscles. Even the mighty vegetables were consumed, although the broccoli fought bitterly to the last. Soon, there was only one thing left to eat.

The chips.

His eyes flaming with anticipation, he seized the bag of potato chips and ripped it open with practiced ease. His fingers flickered back and forth, so fast that it was hard to keep track of them. And not a bit of the chips was lost, not a crumb escaped from his rapidly chewing mouth. After all, he was an Akimichi, and what an Akimichi wanted to eat was _eaten_, no questions asked.

Finally, all the chips were gone. Save one.

The final chip. That last portion of the meal. The one that tasted the best.

Slowly, reverently, he reached deep into the bag, withdrawing that last chip. He held it up in the air, watching in awe as the sunlight seemed to give it a golden luminescence, as if it glowed with inner majesty. Truly, this chip must be that Lord of all chips! It was perfectly formed, liberally covered with the delicious spices, and it simply screamed "Eat me!" And who was he to argue with food?

All of nature seemed to stop as he began the ritual. The birds stopped singing, the squirrels stopped gnawing; even the perverts stopped peeping, feeling that it was wrong to soil this most holy moment. Slowly, the chip was lowered to his mouth. Slowly, it was inserted between his sets of white teeth. Slowly, ever so slowly, his mighty maw closed, crushing the chip into splinters with a loud _CRUNCH_.

He chewed meditatively, his eyes shut in reverence.

He swallowed.

It was done.

Life returned to Nature, bringing it back from its worshipful stillness. The birds seemed to sing louder than before, their warbling throats sending lilting birdsong echoing through the great trees. The squirrels set about their meals with relish, knowing that their duty was done. And the perverts? Well… They did what they do best, Kami bless their little hearts.

With a sigh of utter contentment, the rotund lad rested his head against the trunk of the tree under which he sat, knowing that, for now, the void of his belly had been sated. Of course, it would not last long. But, while it did, all was well with the world. As for as this Akimichi was concerned, it was time for a little R & R. He slowly slid his way down the trunk of the tree, a goofy grin on his face as his eyes slowly began to close. Soon, he was prostrate on the ground, waiting eagerly for sleep's tender embrace to carry him away into the land of dreams, where it was always time to eat.

Suddenly, a loud noise destroyed the blissful silence, cracking in his ears like a gunshot. With a start and a yell of dismay, he leapt quickly to his feet, wide eyes scanning the schoolyard in fearful panic. Was it an attack? Maybe it was Iwa, starting the old war! His dad had told him all about it; how they used the very earth he stood on to attack. Oh, Kami… What if they were underneath him? He didn't want to die! He had so much to live for, so much he hadn't eaten yet!

Well, an Akimichi is never one to sit idly when things go wrong. They act.

Chouji acted.

With a speed and agility which surpassed his sturdy bulk, he scrambled up the tree behind him, leaving no more than a blurred outline. Soon, he was perched on a high branch, much to the dismay of the birds, who flew of in a loud rustle of wings. From on high, he looked down over the world, wondering when the shinobi were going to kill him.

Then a voice spoke.

"That class took FOREVER! C'mon, Shika, let's go grab a place to sit!" Choji started, nearly falling from his perch. There, coming out of the school he had left just a moment ago, was two boys from his class. One had dark hair and a bored face, and he yawned loudly as he walked along behind the second boy. His companion was a little shorter than he was, and his hair was a bright yellow that caught the eye. The only thing that was louder than that color was his voice, which had echoed across the clearing so well.

So he had been a little paranoid again. Who could blame him? With the world in the state it was, every day enemy shinobi weren't on their doorstep was a good day. He was just being cautious, that's all. Yeah. Cautious. With a groan of annoyance, the rotund boy shifted his weight on the branch, looking for a way to climb down.

He couldn't find one.

He was, quite literally, up a tree without a ladder.

He sighed in frustration, looking down at the ground beneath him. It looked far away. It was a tall tree. Which meant it was a long way down. A _very _long way down. It was suddenly becoming quite clear to him that he was, in fact, quite a ways off the ground. He felt himself get a little light-headed and whimpered slightly, shrinking against the branch that held him. He moaned and hugged the tree in desperation, suddenly realizing that he was scared of heights.

No, not just scared. _Terrified_.

"Hey, Shika! Check it out! That fat kid from class is stuck in the tree!"

Oh. That kid did _not _just say what Chouji thought he did. His hearing must be off. That's all. Yeah.

"Hey, buddy! Can ya get down? I don't think the branch can hold your weight much longer!"

Keep cool. Keep calm. He didn't mean it in a bad way. It wasn't intentional. He was trying to be nice. _For Kami's sake, don't get mad!_

Just then, another boy came out, this one with several people with him. He, too, seemed momentarily shocked by the sight of Chouji in the tree. After all, it was the last thing he would expect to be in a tree. He seemed to be thinking 'Birds, yes. Bugs, yes. Akimichi's, _no_'.

"Whoa, what the hell? What's that butterball doing up in a tree?"

Oh. That's it.

It's _war._

With an angry shout, he grabbed the branch beneath him and let himself drop off, dangling for a moment by his arms. Then he released the branch and landed on the ground with an audible _thump_, hissing out his held breath between clenched teeth. After he recovered, he started slowly forward, his eyes blazing with a righteous anger. Nobody called him fat.

_Nobody_.

Even as he advanced towards them, the blonde boy seemed to disregard his intentions entirely, stepping forward with a cheerful smile on his face. "Hey, nice jump, man! Didn't know you had it in ya!" While Chouji glowered darkly at him, the boy merely gave him a friendly slap on the back, still grinning. "Hey, what's your name?"

Chouji's wrath subsided a little, replaced by confusion. Who was this guy? Didn't he realize that Chouji had been insulted? Or maybe he just didn't care? Either way, he seemed like he was being nice now. Or was the blonde just doing this to insult him again? Well… there was no sense in being unsociable. "I'm Chouji. Akamichi Chouji."

"Chouji, huh? My names Naruto, from the Inuzuka clan. Nice to meetcha." Before Chouji knew what was happening, he soon found himself being dragged towards the rest of the newcomers, Naruto happily waving and shouting and the brown-haired boy. "Yo, Kiba! Who're your friends?"

"'Sup, Naruto? These are some of the fun people in our class. That," Kiba replied, pointing to a blonde-haired girl with strange eyes, "is Yamanaka Ino. Her pop owns the flower shop down the way."

Naruto nodded sagely, his eyes lighting in remembrance. "Oh, right. Sis goes there sometimes. Kinda stinks there, though." Kiba smirked in agreement as Ino glowered darkly at the blonde Inuzuka, wondering if it was legal to stuff a liberal amount of said flowers up a certain region of the blonde's anatomy. There was probably a law. Damn.

"Right. And the guy with the coat is Aburame Shino. He's real quiet, but he's actually kinda cool. Oh, and he's got this cool trick with bugs he can do!"

"Ew! BUGS?" Ino had suddenly discovered that Shino's company was far less desirable than she had previously imagined, and she quickly scooted around him so that Kiba was blocking her from the Aburame's sight. Shino merely shrugged softly, not really caring either way what the girl thought. Naruto, on the other hand, was all agog, staring at Shino in awe.

"Whoa, seriously? What kind of tricks can you make them do?"

Shino directed a bleak stare at Naruto through the sunglasses, which, like always, the blonde blatantly ignored. "I do not make them 'do tricks'. They are intelligent and graceful creatures, and they deserve your respect."

Naruto stared at him a moment longer, his jaw working. "Riiiiight. Moving on. Who's that, Kiba?"

The blonde's brother was quickly tiring of his role as introductory extraordinaire, so he quickly finished the job. "Okay, she's Ami, she's Noẻmie, and he's Yahiko."

Naruto acknowledged each name, nodding at each person in turn. Ami was a smallish, brown-haired girl with a determined set to her jaw, while Noẻmie, in contrast, seemed tall and willowy with pale hair, almost ethereal in appearance; she was definitely foreign, especially since the name was so strange. But they both had the same kind eyes; hard and strong, with a layer of determination. Yahiko, on the other hand, seemed like he was in it for the fun of it, and his eyes had a sparkle in them that made him look like he was amused. He and Naruto exchanged a grin before Kiba interposed himself, looking questioningly at Naruto.

"So, who's your buddy?"

"Oh, yeah! Shika, this is my brother Kiba. Kiba, this is Nara Shikamaru. Y'know, our mom goes drinking with their dad."

"Cool. So, we've got half an hour to burn. What do you guys want to do?"

"Meh. Let's go find something! C'mon, guys!"

Chouji soon found himself trapped amidst the small crowd, unable to get free. But, then again, it's not like he really wanted to. Somehow, through events beyond his control, he had been roped into this group. He smiled softly, glancing furtively about him as they tramped through the schoolyard, seeking the playground that was nearby. It felt nice to be surrounded by people, especially when they were being nice to him. His eyes met those of Shikamaru, who grunted and jerked his head backwards. In obedience, Chouji slowly made his way to the back of the group, finding Shikamaru there waiting for him.

"Gah, this is troublesome, huh?" Chouji wasn't sure how to reply to that, but he got the feeling that Shikamaru was trying to strike up a conversation. Which was strange, since his father had told him that Naras were, as a rule, as lazy and retiring as they come.

"I guess… Maybe it'll be fun."

"Hmm… Maybe. Let's go find out, huh?"

Shikamaru vanished easily back into the hustle, leaving a bemused Chouji in his wake. The Akimichi followed quickly, his mind in a whir of activity. He wasn't sure what was going on, but, in the course of five minutes, he had eaten a delicious lunch, been inducted into a group, and obtained at least one actual friend, which was one above par for the rotund lad. As they reached the playground, Chouji found that he had a huge grin on his face. He didn't know what would happen these next few years of school; hell, he didn't know what would happen five minutes from now, especially if they're as crazy as the last five minutes. But he did know one thing.

Looks like this would be an interesting group.

* * *

AN: Okay, hope you all liked the chapter! Just let me address a couple of things here. Firstly, I know that I skipped a lot when I went straight to the first day of the academy. But, don't worry, you'll get to learn more of Naruto's familial history soon enough, and I'll also tell you what antics Hiashi pulled to try and get Naruto. Right now, though, I want to get the main story underway! So, once we get all the characters set up and everything, we'll get moving. Buckle your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen, because we're gonna hit graduation day before you know it! ;) 

Secondly, and this is important: I opened a forum for my stories. It's called "**Gaereth's Stories**", and I highly recommend you check it out. If you have any questions or comments on this story or any of my others, feel free to start up a topic! There will also be polls posted there concerning story progression and pairings; while the pairing is open, I will only accept votes that are cast via the poll. It's just too confusing to try and keep track of them all by review! XX

Next chapter, we'll finish up the graduation day and bring our lads home, where we'll get a healthy dosage of flashback from good ol' Tsume. We get to see Hiashi get pissed:D

Well, I think that's everything. Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!

'Til next time,

Gaereth


	3. Chapter 3

Howl of the Kitsune

Chapter 3: Homework? On the first DAY?!

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, since Kishimoto had the guts to think of it first. :(

AN: An update? From Gaereth? My god, I can't believe it. Well, let's see if he cooked up something decent for us to read. Shall we?

* * *

Inuzuka Tsume was having the time of her life.

The weather was absolutely perfect, she had a plate of leftover pork chops from yesterday's supper, which she was going to wash down with a plentiful amount of brilliant sake, and her sons were off at school. Could life get any better than this?

She grabbed a piece of the meat in a clawed hands and bit into it, tearing off a large hunk and chewing it lazily. Oh, yeah. That's _good_. She'd have to get Hana to cook more often! Despite being only ten years old, she made a mean pork chop. And her ramen wasn't half bad either. Swallowing the chop, she took a leisurely swig from her bottle of sake. Okay, life just got better. And she had an inkling that by the time she reached the bottom of the flask, she'd be in absolute heaven.

It was so nice to have the kids off her hands, for once. Thanks be to whichever smartass came up with school, even though she had never bothered with it herself. Education was something that was best left on a blackboard. After all, the date that Konoha was founded wasn't really a big concern; all that mattered to her was preventing kids from having to learn the date of its destruction as well.

Math? You can keep it, as far as she was concerned. The only real use for it was tallying up how many poor bastards you'd killed, and she didn't bother with that kind of shit. No, the battlefield had been her schoolhouse, and warfare had been her teacher. She'd much rather be able to sever an enemy's head from his body than know how to do long division.

She polished off the last of the pork chops and leaned back against the wall of her family compound, taking gulps from her bottle of sake.

To be honest, she thought that thinking on the battleground was downright stupid. Every real shinobi knew that, when the enemies were attacking and the kunai were flashing through the air, it all boiled down to instincts, experience and skill. Strategy was for those Genjutsu pussies, whose only hope was that they could outthink their opponent with deception and strategy. Ninjutsu wasn't much good either, since every jutsu ever made had a weak spot of some sort. All it took was a little skill, and you could dance circles around any Ninjutsu user.

But Taijutsu? That was a whole 'nother bowl of dog chow.

When you fought face to face with your opponent, pitting your strength and skill against his strength and skill, that's when you discovered the true measure of a shinobi. Many was the time that she had fought tooth and nail, fang and claw, and had come out victorious, all because she relied on her instincts more than any kind of fighting style.

She'd fought against all sorts of shinobi, and had seen practically every type of taijutsu that there was, from the Jyuuken to the Gouken. She knew that they were flawed.

Styles can be strong. Styles can be quick. Styles can be deceptive as all hell. But, in the end, it was only a style. Mastering a style only meant that you had forced yourself to react in a set pattern to certain attacks. Throw a punch at a Hyuuga's face? They'd always try to dodge, so they'd have both hands free to attack with, which meant that you had them off balance and vulnerable. Try to punch someone like Gai, who she trained with occasionally? He'd always try to block, which meant that a simple feint would leave him open.

No, in her mind, the best way to fight was to be unpredictable and random, to never use the same move twice. She'd won so many fights by simply never doing what the opponent expected. Fight by instinct. Let your body decide each punch, choose every kick, deal with every attack. That was the foundation of her 'style', if you could call it that. Surprise your enemy, and you make them uncertain. An uncertain enemy is a hesitative enemy. And, if you hesitate in a fight, you might as well just let them strike you down where you stand.

She bared her teeth in a grin. Of course, she'd never give up. Ever. Call it canine perseverance or 'doggish stubbornness', as Hiashi often did, but she'd never given up on a fight. It wasn't over until they'd killed her. And, even then, they'd have to be certain she was dead, because if they didn't finish the job right away, she'd make them wish that they had.

She brought the bottle to her mouth to take another drag, but found that she had drained it dry. She looked around cautiously, seeking any signs of heaven come to earth. Hmm... No angels, no pearly gates, no Buddha. Nope, looks like she'd been wrong. Well, maybe after the _next _bottle, she'd be in heaven.

"MOM!" The sudden shout shattered the peaceful silence. Tsume sighed and stood up. One thing was for sure: when Hana wanted your attention, she made damn sure she got it. That voice of hers seemed to have the power and strength normally affiliated to volcanoes. And she had the temper of one, to boot.

Well, what else could she expect? Hana _was _her daughter, after all.

"WHAT?" she shouted back.

"THAT DAMN RUNT'S CAUSING TROUBLE AGAIN!"

Tsume sighed in exasperation. The litter was all of two weeks old, and already the runt of it, a scrawny black pup, was causing trouble for the rest. It was strange, though, because the littlest one was normally the most docile. Well, she'd better go see what was going on in the kennel.

She went around the back of the house and walked briskly over to the large kennel, in which resided every bitch and pup she had. She left the older males to their own devices, so long as they understood that she wasn't gonna tolerate any funny stuff, but she had found that it was best to keep the bitches in the kennel, especially when they were in heat. The last thing she needed was for the wrong dog to mount the wrong bitch; their family had been keeping the pedigree intact for over three hundred years, and she was not about to be the idiot that let it all go to waste.

"Alright, what's going on?" she said as she hurled the kennel door open.

Hana, who was kneeling in one of the far stalls, brushed her hair out of her eyes with a grubby hand and looked petulantly at her mother. "The runt's been trying to hog the milk, that's what. Whenever one of the others goes for a nipple, he blocks them."

Tsume frowned and stepped quickly into the stall, checking on the situation with her own eyes. Sure enough, the pup was stopping the rest of the litter from drinking. That wasn't good. She quickly grabbed the runt and lifted him away, being careful not to hurt him.

He was a feisty one. Even when she was holding his tiny form off the ground, he was trying to fight her. Her frown deepened. Maybe he was _too _feisty. One thing was for sure, she'd have to keep an eye on this one. The last thing she needed was a wild pup putting the wrong ideas in the other pup's heads. That was the major downside of intelligent dogs; they thought about things, damn it all.

She gently set the runt down on the ground of the kennel, keeping him away from the rest of the pups. Even now, he was straining to get at the milk once more, even though he had already drunk his share. Well, there was nothing she could do right now. Besides, maybe it was just a phase; the pup might grow out of it in time. She'd seen it before. But, if not... He'd have to go.

"Hana, keep an eye on the rest of them. I'm going to stick this little bastard in the box for a bit." Hana nodded and frowned slightly, knowing what her mother was thinking. But there was no choice. There was no room for dogs with that sort of greedy or twisted mind. They were born to be a partner, to be a part of a pair. They were bred for teamwork, trained for obedience, and taught to _think_. A hound that thought more about his own needs than the needs of his partner didn't deserve to live. He would only drag them both down, he and his partner, if this sort of behavior continued. And Hana knew that her mother wasn't about to tolerate that. Not after what she'd been through.

After all, her mother's brother had died because of a dog like that.

Tsume was thinking along the same lines as her daughter, and her mind was full of sorrow and anger. After all, it had been because of her lax training that the dog had been left to its own devices, that the hound had learned that being greedy and manipulative was easier than working with someone else. She hadn't noticed the evil gnawing at the pup's mind, not until it was far too late. Her little brother had bonded with that dog, and had died for it. While on the battlefield, facing a squad of Iwa shinobi, his pup, Tokumaru, had turned tail and run, leaving him to fight them himself. She hadn't been able to rescue him in time, and she had been forced to watch her brother be gutted like a pig by the sadistic enemy. She had decapitated the bastard that did it a second later, but it was a second too late, and she could do nothing but watch as her brother's blood flowed from his body. And his last words? "I'm sorry, Tokumaru."

She set the runt inside the tiny kennel and closed the door with a slam, spitting at the ground in sudden fury. Even then, her brother had felt responsible, had decided that he had been the one to fail his partner. It was the other way around. And why had the dog run? Because Tsume hadn't detected his twisted mind, hadn't forced him to reject those selfish ideals and learn to work together with his partner. It wasn't going to happen again. She had sworn it then, and she would swear it again now. Not another dog like that would be allowed that chance to betray his partner. She wouldn't allow it.

She turned away from the small kennel, where she could already hear the whining of the pup for his mother, for more food. He'd have to stay in there for a time, until he learned the consequences of his greedy actions. It was the only way. She had to stop this now, while he was still young. It was that, or he'd have to go.

She'd give him a week. No more.

* * *

"You've got a week, and no more!" Iruka's words rang throughout the classroom, echoed by a chorus of wails from the gathered students. "No," he said with an upheld hand, "no complaining! I want this essay due by next Monday, and that's final! By Kami, it's only a few paragraphs long! It isn't that hard!"

"WHAT?! THREE _PARAGRAPHS_?!" shouted the blonde Inuzuka Naruto, his face twisted with a sudden horror. "That's gonna take FOREVER!!!"

"C'mon, Iruka-sensei!" said his brother, a cold sweat already forming on his brow. There was nothing he feared more than the sight of a pen and a blank scroll. "It's the first day of school! You shouldn't give us homework on the very first _day_!" There was a round of agreements from his classmates, and even Shikamaru, whose capacity for laziness was already a class legend, decided it was worth his time to step in.

"You know, Iruka-sensei, that it would be logically unwise of you to assign this essay. Ignoring the fact that we must write about how we feel about the class, which is entirely unneccesary information, the very act of assigning such a task on the first day will have the unfortunate effect of instilling the class with a feeling of oppression, causing the general atmosphere of the class to take a marked decline."

Iruka looked slightly impressed at this six-year old's vocabulary and sentence structure, but his mind was made up. "Nope, nothing you say will make the slightest bit of difference. I want three paragraphs, one about what you think about shinobi in general, one about what you think about the school, and one about what you think concerning your classmates. All of this is due by Monday, at the beginning of class. Understood?" There was a general mutinous muttering that he took to be affirmatives. He smiled widely at them. "Good. Now, class dismissed. REMEMBER, MONDAY MORNING, EIGHT O'CLOCK, AND NOT A SECOND LATER!" His shout was nearly drowned out in the flood of sound as children gathered all their stuff together and bolted for the door in a twinkling of an eye. Before Iruka had been able to say "class", Naruto and Kiba had been out the door and legging it for the open spaces. They burst out of the door of the school with a whoop of joy.

"YAHOO! Freedom!" shouted Kiba, stretching his arms out to the sky. "I thought that class would _never _end."

Naruto laughed and grinned widely, sticking his tongue out at the schoolhouse behind them. "No kidding. I can't believe he actually assigned an essay on the first day of class."

Kiba scowled and kicked the ground idly. "Yeah, that sucked. I don't want to bother with it. C'mon, let's go home."

"Hang on a sec! I wanna see Shika and the rest before we go home," pleaded Naruto, looking back at the doorway. A second later, he grinned even wider and waved vigorously, having spotted his buddies amidst the sea of students that had gushed out of the doorway. "Yo, Chouji! Where's Shika at?"

The chubby boy jogged towards them, waving a meaty hand in reply. "He still in the class, I think. He didn't want to leave with the rest of the class. Said it was too troublesome."

"That sounds like the lazyass bastard to me. Hey, Kiba, you sure you want to go straight home after this? I wanna hang out with some of our buddies."

The brown-haired Inuzuka shrugged wearily, heaving his book bag wearily over his shoulder. "I don't care, Naruto. I'm just sick of school, and I want to ditch these books. Man, the first day, and I'm already sick of the place." His aspect suddeny brightened, and he dropped his bookbag and waved enthusiastically at a gaggle of girls who had just left the academy, all chattering animatedly. "Yo, Ino, Ami! What're you guys up to?"

The group of girls look at each other and giggled, whispering amongst themselves in quick voices. Then a blonde girl with long hair stepped forward, brushing a long lock away from her face. "What does it matter to you, Woofy?" There was a ripple of giggles, and Kiba flushed a little. Naruto, on the other hand, couldn't restrain his laughter.

"HAH! Dude, you just got burned by some chicks! That's so sad, I think I'm gonna cry... NOT!"

"Shut up, jackass!" shouted Kiba, his cheeks flushed even more. "You couldn't get a girl to talk to you if you tried, asshole!"

Naruto stopped laughing and growled at Kiba, who growled right back. "Oh, I couldn't, huh? Bet you I can." Kiba scoffed at him, but Naruto turned away and scanned the crowd of schoolchildren who had gathered around. His blue eyes fell on a short, pale girl, who he vaguely remembered seeing in his class. Perfect. He'd show that Kiba bastard.

He turned and ran towards her, nearly running into her in his haste. Panting a bit from his exertion, he grinned, not noticing her startled expression. "Hiya! I'm Naruto. What's your name?"

Hyuuga Hinata, for it was her, was more than slightly taken aback by his sudden appearance. She had noticed him in class, and had found herself fascinated by his forward behavior and the fact that he seemed afraid of nothing. He had embaressed himself over and over again in the class, but had simply got up and laughed along with the rest of the class, refusing to let it get to him. She had admired his strength, but she had no idea how to react to him. She merely stood there, clasping her hands together nervously as her wide eyes stared into his own.

Naruto, on the other hand, had no idea what was going through her head. Instead, he was wondering what the hell could be wrong with this girl. He had only said hello to her, and she wasn't doing anything in response. Was she deaf or something. "HELLO. I'M NARUTO. CAN. YOU. HEAR. ME?" He said loudly, bringing an even deeper blush to the poor girl's face. She lowered her eyes and let her head droop, unsure what to do.

Kiba was laughing his ass off. "See! I told ya! You couldn't get a girl to talk to ya even if ya tried! Stupid jackass!"

"Shut up, Kiba!" roared Naruto, turning towards his brother with a look of rage on his face. "I'm gonna kick your ass, you bastard!"

"Let's see you try, dumbshit! You know I'm just gonna kick the shit out of you!" growled Kiba, crouching down and bending his hands into claws. Naruto merely snarled at him, doing the same. Then, he charged, keeping his body low to the ground, hands held to the side of his body. Kiba did the same, his teeth bared in anticipation. They were twenty feet apart. Ten. Five.

_THUD. THUD._

Both boys were brought to the ground, mere inches away from each other. Atop of Kiba was Shino, the boy who he had met earlier on that same day. He had Kiba in a submission hold, keeping both of his arms twisted behind his back and pinning the Inuzuka's legs with his own. "It is not good to be fighting each other, even if you are brothers." said the boy, his voice deep and quiet.

Naruto was in a similar predicament, both arms held in a tight grip and his legs trapped. His assailant was a taller boy with black hair and dark clothing. His face was pale but his eyes were dark, and the symbol of a red and white fan was emblazoned on his wide-necked shirt. Naruto's eyes narrowed. The Uchiha clan crest. Those uptight bastards.

The boy held him in a firm grip, and said quietly, "You shouldn't be fighting like this. People might get the wrong ideas."

The two boys nodded at each other and released their Inuzuka prisoners, who stood quickly to their feet, brushing the dirt off themselves. The Uchiha stepped away from Naruto and said, "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I'm sorry for getting in the way of your fight, but it was my responsibility to stop you."

"Fighting within the hive destroys order and promotes chaos." said Shino, his hands back in his pockets. He turned and walked away, as if norhing had happened. Kiba, rubbing his arms, watched him go with a strangely thoughtful expression on his face, but Naruto was all too ready to say something.

"Hey, Uchiha bastard! You didn't have to stop me like that! We fight all the time, and nobody cares."

"That may be true, but it is unwise to fight when there are others nearby. Someone could be hurt, or start taking sides. My big brother told me that fighting is fine, but only when there aren't people around to get hurt."

Naruto muttered under his breath, but had to admit that Sasuke was right. Besides, the close shave he had just had was starting to register. Just imagine what his mom would've done if she had caught wind of the fact that he and Kiba had fought in front of everybody like that. He would've been grounded for life! He crossed his arms and stomped off, mumbling angrily under his breath. Punching his brother in the arm to get his attention, Naruto scowled and said "C'mon, let's get out of here."

Kiba growled and returned the punch with pleasure, but he wanted to leave as badly as his brother. Grabbing his satchel of books from where he had dropped them, he turned and stalked off, his brother in tow. Behind them, Uchiha Sasuke watched their retreating backs with dislike, remembering what his father kept telling him about the barbarous ways of the Inuzuka. However, he also remembered his brother's advice, which was to never get on their bad side. Make them your enemy, and you had an enemy for life, Itachi had said. It was probably better to just let them be. He turned away and went home, intending on finishing that essay first thing and then getting in some shuriken practice. After all, if he didn't do his best from the start, there was no way he could surpass his brother.

Sasuke wasn't the only one who watched the brothers leave. Hyuuga Hinata, her pale eyes widened in astonishment, stared at them as they left. Or, rather, stared at one of them. Naruto. She didn't know what to think. After leading a life where she was either treated with the utmost respect by her servants and guardians, or with aloofness from her father, she was more than startled at Naruto's attitude. Of course, he didn't know who she was, and thus had no reason to treat her abnormally, but he was obviously the sort that wouldn't have cared whether she was the daughter of the Daimyo. He still would've have grabbed her, yelled at her. He wouldn't have cared.

"Lady Hinata?" She jumped and turned about quickly, relaxing when she saw the familiar form of Hikuno, her bodyguard and loyal servant. He was a member of the branch family, and he also possessed those legendary eyes of the Hyuuga, the Byakugan, which could see all. And he could see that she was much disturbed. She shrank into herself and twiddled her fingers nervously, looking at the ground so he couldn't see the blush in her cheeks.

"Uh..." she said quietly, her voice quivering. "I... I think we should go home."

"Are you sure, Lady Hinata?" he said softly, his pale eyes registering concern. "You don't look at all well. Did that boy harm you?"

"NO!" she shouted, surprising him and her. Withdrawing herself even more, she stammered out "H-he didn't d-d-do anything. Let's go ho-home, okay?"

He frowned in disbelief, but bowed and stepped aside. "As you wish, Heiress."

She slunk past him and walked quickly down the road, Hikuno falling into step behind her. But her blush remained, and her thoughts were still on that blonde boy. Naruto. She was frightened by him, and appalled at his complete lack of manners, and yet... she liked him. She wished she had his confidence, his lack of fear. She wished she could act however she wanted, just like he did. She...

She shook her head, clearing her mind of that thought. She had to focus on what she had learned that day. Her father, Hyuuga Hiashi, would want to her hear recite from memory all that she had heard in Iruka's lecture, and she couldn't fail him. Not this time.

* * *

AN: Shorter than usual, I know. I also know it's been quite some time since I updated this story, let alone the rest of them. I can't give any excuses for it. All I can say is that, what with working nights and trying to earn money for school, among other things, there hasn't been much time that I could devote to this pastime, pleasurable though it is. So, I'm afraid my chapters will be rather shorter than what you are accustomed to, although I'll try and maintain the quality as best as I can.

Well, as you can tell from this chapter, this is certainly not going to be a SasukeXHinata story. I know the last chapter may have given you that impression, but that's not the way it is. Probably. Might change later on, who knows? But the primary reason that I'm casting the spotlight on Hinata, Sasuke and Naruto, as well as the interaction between them, is that I'm trying to set up events later on, as well as show you that this story is different from canon Naruto. Naruto has a family now, and he has a tendency to affect change in others. Since he himself has been changed, the way he affects others will be changed as well. This will become evident in future chapters. Also, the three of them are rather key players, although Naruto is, of course, of the utmost importance. After all, they are all from Noble Families, even if the Inuzuka have fallen into disrepute, so to speak.

I encourage you all to visit the forum, although I have to admit that I've been a bit lax in that area as well. Still, it's got quite a few interesting people who frequent it, and I have to say that they've given me more than a few splendid ideas to work with. Hope you check that out.

What else can I say...? Oh, I'm going to try and update my other stories as well, those of you who read them. Especially LiD and Will of Fire, although I should add to Bloody Mist as well. Sorry again for the delay, and I hope that this chapter made up a little for the long, long wait.

And please, if you read this story and liked it, or have questions you'd like to ask, leave a review. Although, in some occasions, your questions might be better answered if you put them in the forum. The chaps there seem to know almost as much as I do about my stories, and they've helped me iron most of this out, so they might like to see it too.

Ten points to whoever can point out the significance behind Tsume's portion of the story:D

'Til next time,

Gaereth

P.S. Oh, and let me know if you have trouble reading this chapter. I've switched over to using Wordpad instead of Microsoft Word, since I've been using my laptop instead of my desktop for writing, and I've recieved a few messages saying that the chapters that I wrote in Wordpad have had some issues. So, let me know, and I'll start using Word instead. Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

Howl of the Kitsune

Chapter 4: It's been a Long Day.

Disclaimer: In ancient times, there was a custom in which one would disclaim ownership of their properties to their feudal lord or master. However, since I didn't own Naruto in the first place, I couldn't care less.

AN: Right, now it's time for a bit of family fun. Do dogs with attitude, bossy siblings and drinking moms mix well with our favorite blonde shinobi? Let's find out...

Hatake Kakashi had had a long day. Having just returned from an S-rank mission early this morning, he was immediately spotted by Gai, who insisted on having one of their "Showdowns". Knowing that the green-suited freak wouldn't leave him alone until he consented, he agreed on the spot. After easily defeating Gai in a game of Chess (It helped that Gai still didn't understand how the "little horsies" moved about), Kakashi made his way homeward, intent on rereading one of the older versions of his favorite series, Icha Icha Paradise. Unfortunately, he was spotted by Uchiha Itachi, a young prodigy of the Uchiha family, who never failed to start up a conversation with Kakashi whenever he got the chance. After yet another conversation concerning the Sharingan and its many uses, some of which were convoluted enough to give even Kakashi's genius mind a headache, Itachi asked Kakashi to train with him in Training Area twenty-six. He agreed, but not without some reluctance.

Training Area #26 is, like the other training areas, a contained area of Konoha space that is devoted towards a specific type of environment. Some of the Training areas were forests, others were centered around lakes, a few simulated mountains, and others canyons. Twenty-six was unusual in that it was constructed to resemble a desert. And, with the use of various jutsu, it felt like a desert. This training area hadn't been used much since the last war with Suna village, and so Itachi and Kakashi had been the only ones there. So, they got down to business.

The training had lasted hours, and at the end of it, Kakashi found that he had to rethink his entire attitude towards this Uchiha prodigy. Prodigy wasn't a strong enough word. The boy was all of twelve or thirteen years old, but his strength and skill were phenomenal. His knowledge of Genjutusu was staggering, and his mastery of the Sharingan made him a formidable foe in every aspect of Shinobi warfare. All he lacked was experience, thought Kakashi as he panted from exhertion, and this boy would be one of the greatest shinobi of all time. Of course, Kakashi had been a prodigy as well, and thanks to his vast experience in shinobi warfare, he was able to lay Itachi low. It wasn't easy, but it could be done.

After Itachi and Kakashi parted ways, Kakashi decided to waive the idea of a peaceful evening of reading and decided that he should continue training. Since most of the fighting he had used against Itachi had been Taijutsu, and since he'd sworn to never use his Sharingan unless he was in a life or death situation, he still had plenty of chakra left in his reserves, and there were certain jutsu that he should train. For example, Kuchiyose no Jutsu.

Inuzuka Tsume was the holder of the summoning contract with the Inu clan. For reasons she had never spoken about, although Kakashi privately suspected that it was because he had saved her husband's life long ago, she had allowed Kakashi to sign the summoning contract, a privelege that had not been given to a shinobi outside her clan for centuries. However, even though Kakashi understood the basics of the summoning technique, he still didn't understand how to summon a specific dog. Depending on which animal he wished to summon, he had to use _precisely _the correct amount of chakra. Too much, or too little, and he would summon a different beast. And that could be fatal in an actual combat situation. For example, if he required a dog that specialized in close combat or speed, and he accidentally summoned a scout or a ranged fighter, then he had not only wasted the chakra spent to summon the dog, but had actually made things worse for himself. After all, now that the enemy shinobi knew that he knew Kuchiyose no Jutsu, he can react appropriately.

But chakra control wasn't the problem here. No, his problem was that dogs liked to come in packs. He would try to summon Hayate, who was a small, quick combat dog, but would end up summoning not only Hayate, but his brother, parents, first cousins, girlfriend and grandparents. _Okay, _Kakashi admitted to himself, _that was a mild exaggeration. But, still, it's frustrating. How the hell am I supposed to summon specific dogs when they insist on travelling in groups? The whole principle of the 'pack' of dogs is just... _

"Yo, Kakashi." Tsume's voice echoed through the empty air, startling Kakashi out of his reverie. He shook his head roughly, remonstrating himself for dropping his guard.

"Good afternoon, Tsume. What brings you here?"

"Ah, save that polite shit for those damned politicians, boy," she grunted, crouching next to where he knelt. They sat there for a moment in silence, gazing down from the tall cliff they sat on, overlooking the entirety of the sandy training area. Kakashi had decided to remain here to train since he wanted to keep this little jutsu a surprise, and he knew that people rarely came this way. Tsume, growling a little under her breath, continued. "Been practicing that jutsu?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah. I'm in a bit of a tough spot right now, but I'll figure it out soon enough."

She laughed for a second, a harsh, loud bark of mirth. "Hah! Having trouble dealing with the pack mentality, are ya?"

Kakashi's good eye flickered toward her, and he nodded slowly.

"Thought so. Well, listen up, kid. Because you didn't whine and bitch about this, I'll give you a hand." She leaned back on her haunches and looked up at the sky, blue and cloudless. Slowly, she continued speaking, saying "A pack isn't a group. It isn't a family. It isn't an orginazation, a cooperative effort, a gathering. It's a single, living, breathing thing. It's _alive_. It's a bond that goes deeper than family, deeper than love. The pack is a force of nature. With me so far?"

Kakashi frowned slightly beneath his mask. "I... don't know. I always thought of a wolf pack or a pack of wild dogs as something they did to survive. 'Two heads are better than one', and all that."

"Heh. That's what a lot of people think." said Tsume, baring her teeth in a feral smile. "But it's much more than that. In a pack, when one is hungry, all are hungry. When one is content, all are content. When a pack-friend dies, a part of them dies with him. Kakashi, you can't hope to compete with that bond. When you try to summon a specific beast, the others can sense the danger he might be in, and they refuse to let him go alone. If you had a Genin team, and they were assigned a high-risk mission, wouldn't you want to go with them, to help and protect them?"

Kakashi eyes were downcast, remembering how the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had often does precisely that back when he had been Kakashi's Jounin sensei. Tsume nodded. "So, you get it. Good."

"But, then what can I do?" asked Kakashi, once more looking intently at Tsume. "How can I convince them that I'll take care of them, protect them?" But Tsume never answered. Silently, she rose to her feet and turned away, breaking into a sudden sprint. A leap and a bound, and she was out of sight, leaving Kakashi to think through the puzzle on his own.

_'How?!' _thought Kakashi to himself. _'How can I get them to understand? And what was the point of explaining the whole 'pack' concept to me? It does me no good; I'm not part of their pack, so why-'_

His eyes opened wide in astonishment.

That was it.

What is needed, above all else, in any sort of relationship? What single thing can make or break your friendships, bring happiness to a lover, give pride to a father or to a son?

Trust.

The pack is all about trust. He had to prove himself to the pack, prove that he was trustworthy, prove that the precious members of their pack were safe with him. And to do that, he had to become one of the pack as well. A pack-friend can only be trusted to another pack-friend. That trust, that boundless trust in each other, is necessary. 

He rose slowly to his feet, pulling a kunai from the holster on his hip. Carefully slitting open the skin of his thumb, he closed his eyes and concentrated. He had to get this right...

As Kakashi continued his training, Tsume was making her way back to the village, feeling proud that she had done her 'good deed' for the day. Besides, the boys should be back from school soon, and she wanted to be there when they came back. Troublemakers though they were, it was boring when they weren't around, and she found herself beginning to feel a bit lonely. What with Hana spending all of her free time in the clan library, poring over all the veterinarian texts their clan had accumulated over the years, she found that there was far too few distractions in this village. Sake could only do so much to alleviate the sadness. She had found that out when he had died...

She shook her head roughly, forcing herself to run even faster. Best not to think about those days. After all, she had to concern herself with the here and now. There was no sense in wishful thinking, and even less in useless memories. He was dead, and nothing would change that. And she'd be damned if she didn't raise her kids the best she could. They were the best kids in the whole damn village, as far as she was concerned.

Take Hana, for example. She had been shaken badly by her dad's death, especially since she had been all of five years old at the time. But she had that doggish stubborness of the Inuzuka's, and she refused to let it get to her. And now? She had the makings of a terrific veterinarian, and her fighting skills were steadily improving. She had done better than Tsume had expected with the Haimaru brothers; even though the three hounds had a love of mischief, Hana was able to keep them in line, probably through the same indominable strength that characterized Tsume. It would've made her father proud, if he could see how well she was doing.

As for the two boys... Well, boys will be boys. There wasn't a day that they didn't stick their noses into something that didn't concern them in the least. And they seemed to love causing trouble around the village. She couldn't count the number of complaints that had been brought to bear against her sons over the years. She tried to keep them out of trouble by keeping them busy, normally with training and chores. It never worked for long, unless she promised to teach them some cool technique or something. As soon as she hinted at the mere possibility of that, Naruto would immediately become as obedient as could be. And Kiba, although not as enthusiastic as Naruto, was unwilling to cause trouble without the compliance of his brother. Domineering as he might be, Kiba was very much a pack animal, and he'd sooner do nothing than act on his own.

Tsume frowned slightly, instinctively ducking under a tree branch as she sprinted through the leafy heights of Konoha Forest. That brought to mind an issue that had been plaguing her for some little time. She'd have to partner her boys to their own dogs soon. She had been younger than they were when she had been partnered with Kuromaru. Admittedly, she had been something of a prodigy, and it had been a time of warfare and strife, so it was necessary that she be as strong as possible in as short a time as possible. But, still, she shouldn't put it off for much longer. But she didn't want to do it before they were ready for that kind of responsibility.

Coming to an abrupt stop, she looked about herself. She was near the edge of the village proper. Close enough. Reaching her hand into her vest pocket, she pulled out a small whistle of bone and blew into it. It emitted no audible sound, merely a faint whine at the edge of her already sensitive hearing, but she knew it would bring Kuromaru running as soon as he heard it. And, sure enough, she could already hear his answering howl. And, within minutes, he was there, panting slightly and trying to get his breath back. She felt a sad smile twitch at her lips; they were both getting old, and it was beginning to show. Ah, but they could still kick ass with the best of them. No sense in worrying about the future.

"Kuromaru," she said softly once he had caught his breath, "I've been thinking about the pups." Kuromaru, though as intelligent as any human, still retained the simplistic and straightforward mind of a dog. He refused to think of her children in any other fashion than a 'litter', and her two sons were her 'pups'.

"What of them, pack-mate?" growled Kuromaru, speaking in his usual mix between gutteral growling and soft barking. Though he could speak after a fashion, it wasn't at all easy for him, but he had grown accustomed to it.

Tsume frowned slightly. "I think it's time they joined the pack."

Kuromaru let out a thoughtful bark and nuzzled at the soft soil at his feet. "So. You are unsure?" She nodded, and he grouchily bumped his head against her thigh. "Foolish human. Act, don't regret. Induct them. Or don't."

She looked at him with a mournful grin on her face. "You're really no help at all. You know that, right?" He bared his teeth in amusement, and she went on in a thoughtful tone. "Do you think they're ready to be partnered?"

He pawed softly at the ground for a few moments, thinking over what he had seen of the pups. Then he shook his head decisively, scratching himself idly with a scarred paw. "No."

"No?"

"No. They must learn hardship. Survival. Teamwork. They are too independent, too wild. They must tame themselves before I would trust one of my pups to them."

Tsume sighed deeply. "I was afraid you would say that. Alright, let's get home." He barked loudly in approval, his huge black body crouching low to the ground. Then, in a sudden movement, they were gone, bounding through the trees. Within the blink of an eye, they were gone, woman and hound vanished into the shadows of the forest.

A solitary leaf broke free from its restraints, an early sign of Autumn's arrival. Drifting slowly through the air, it landed softly on the ground. And to each side of where it lay on the warm earth there was a small indention on the ground. Footprints. One of a human foot, one of a paw, definitely canine. And between them, bridging the gap between the prints, was the leaf, unifying the two into a whole.

Inuzuka Hana was a bit annoyed.

She had got up before the sun did, blinking her eyes blearily in the dim light that was beginning to spread through the sky. But, since Tsume _was _her mother, and certain things have a tendency to stick to the genes, like sarcasm for instance, she couldn't help but feel a sharp bitterness towards all writers of proverbs. _"It's always darkest before the dawn," _huh? Who the hell came up with this bullshit? She'd bet her next month's pay that not a single one of the bastards had ever gotten up before ten in the morning in their whole goddamn lives. Either that, or they completely lacked common sense, let alone a basic understanding of simple astronomical fact. Fucking pricks.

Inuzuka Hana was a trifle irritated.

Having taken care of some of the menial daily tasks that were part and parcel with possessing a kennel filled with dogs, such as disposing of the crap before the pups started rolling in it, she had looked up to meet the sun eye to eye. It had been some little ways above the horizon at that time, and the light that shone forth had been clear and unimpeded with any clouds. It was promising to be a good day. For the sun, at least. All the light had done for Hana was giving her a splitting headache. This might have had something to do with the fact that she had hit herself a rather nasty bump on the noggin, courtesy of an antsy pup who had crawled between her legs at just the moment she had tried to walk. But, since trained and skilled kunoichi of the Leaf do not trip over puppies, and since she was _entirely _sure that she was such a kunoichi, despite whatever her arrogant mother and idiotic brothers might say, she had preferred to blame it on the sun. Casting it a dire look, she had raised an uplifted finger in salute to the sun and stalked away, leaving the sun highly offended and tempted to take its light elsewhere, if these bastard humans were going to be so bloody ungrateful.

Inuzuka Hana was feeling somewhat angry.

It was eight thirty, and her mother had been nowhere to be seen. This was not unusual, but it had meant that she was stuck with the unwelcome task of rousing her brothers from their slumber and getting their asses to school. On other, less frustrating days, she might have taken the kinder, gentler route of yelling in their ear, tugging on their ears, poking them in the stomach or, if the situation demanded it, simply dragging them out of bed. But not this day. Having seized a couple of buckets from the shed out back, she had promptly filled them with cold water from the river. Trudging inside with the buckets in tow, she had opened the door to the room the two boys shared and had at it, dumping the water over their beds in torrents. From opposite sides of the room had come sounds of spluttering, gasping, groaning, cursing, and other various noises of startled surprise. Kiba, once he had regained consciousness enough to recognize his surroundings and his sister, had opened his mouth to yell at her until his throat was hoarse. And closed it, swallowing nervously. Something in the way his sister had been looking at him was speaking to him, saying _"Say it. I dare you. Go on. Just one word, just one fucking syllable, and I'll beat you so hard they'll be picking up the pieces for days."_ Kiba was many things, and very few of them were good, but if there was one thing that you could say for him, it was that he knew the difference between a dumb choice and a suicidal choice. Now, if he could just figure out the difference between a dumb decision and a _smart _decision...

Naruto, on the other hand, had been either far too stupid or far too sleepy to care about his sisters attitude. "The hell did ya do that for, sis?!" he had screamed at her, rubbing his eyes in futile attempts to get rid of the water. "I was trying to get some sl-" his tirade had been brought to an abrupt halt, possibly owing to the fact that a large tin bucket had lodged itself in his gut.

Hana had glowered darkly at her groaning brother. "Shut up, or I swear to Kami the second bucket'll have you squeaking like a girl for _days_." Naruto, cowering on the soaked bed, curled himself up into a defensive ball and covered his two best friends protectively. It was one thing to stand up to your sister, and it was quite another thing to do so by risking your balls. Tsume nodded and smirked in the traditional sadistic-older-sister fashion. "Alright, then. Get your asses out of bed, get showered, and go to your fucking class. _Now_." Somehow, that one final word conveyed more terror and fright then anything she had done previously, and the two lads had showed a turn of speed that they didn't know they possessed, getting ready for school in record time. Having appeared downstairs roughly five minutes later, they had shoveled down their food quietly and quickly under the watchful eye of their sister, and then fled from the house immediately after they had finished their meal.

After that, she had taken a quick shower before changing into her kunoichi attire, which consisted of a slim white tanktop, a pair of old cargo pants, and a small black jacket with a stylish red flower embroidered on the back of it. It too had some holes in it, and the whole outfit gave the impression that these clothes were used often and hard. After she had zipped up and laced her set of combat boots, which were a size too big for her since they were her mother's old shoes from her youth, she had eaten a liesurely breakfast, confident in the fact that she didn't have to be in class until ten o'clock. Though she was only ten years old, she was in her last year at the Ninja Academy. Or would have been, had she been able to take on a full load of classes. Between the chores here at the house and her veterinary studies, which she did in the late afternoons after she finished her classes at the academy, she simply didn't have the time to take all eight classes that she needed to graduate. She was only able to take four, so she was at school from ten to three, with an hour between noon and one for lunch. She would've liked to graduate way early, like that cute Uchiha boy who had started the same year she had. He had only been there for a little over a year, though, having tested out of nearly every class. Too bad... for her, at least. She hadn't minded having a little eye candy around...

Having fought down her slight blush, she had then made her way to the Academy, getting there a little early to properly prepare before her classes. She made it through all four of her classes without difficulties; after all, she was quite intelligent by normal standards, and a veritable genius when compared to her family. No offense meant, of course, but most of the Inuzuka's weren't exactly the brightest stars in the sky. But there were some in the family who were incredibly bright, and these individuals normally became veterinarians, like her aunt Miki. Speaking of Miki, her aunt was also the one who taught her all the basics of the job, and Hana went to her clinic from three to seven every weekday and served as an assistant, learning the job by observation, just like Miki had learned the basics from her mother, Mikoto.

Her time at the clinic had been rather boring, with nothing to do besides remove an dirty nail from one old dog's paw. That was the basics of the basics. Anasthetize, remove, disinfect and bandage. Doesn't get much more boring than that, as far as Hana was concerned. Though this had meant she had plenty of time to study the theory of zoology instead of the practical, she had found that she just couldn't concentrate that day, and when time was up, she had gone home with a feeling of dissapointment. This just hadn't been a good day for her, and the sun which she had treated so unkindly that morning was setting, signalling the end of the day.

As she had turned into the Inuzuka clan compound, she had heard the sounds of her two little brothers bemoaning their fate to Tsume.

"But _MOM_, why would we have to write an essay _on the first day?!_" had come Naruto's voice, at the whiniest and most pitiful tone it had in its repertoir, which was considerable.

"Yeah," Kiba had chimed in, "it's totally not fair! I mean, who wants to start off their first year as ninjas with a fucking _essay?!_"

Then had come the familiar sound of her mother smacking both her sons upside the head with a loud _thwack_. "Listen here, you runts! For starters, you're not even ninjas! You're about as far from being ninjas as you can be, apart from being a fucking _civilian. _Secondly, an essay is fucking easy; why, on my very first day at the Academy, I had to fight against my entire class _by myself! _And finally..." there was the sound of another solid smack and Kiba's yelp of pain, "I told you not to curse in this house!"

"But, _Mom_, you just cursed yourself!" argued Kiba, obviously upset by the blow from his mother. Not that she ever hit them hard enough to actually hurt them, just enough for them to get the point. Tough love, Hana had thought to herself. It was the only thing the kids understood.

"And besides, there's no fucking way you had to fight your whole class, Mom. That's just can't be true." Naruto had decided to add, and, in essence, had volunteered himself for good, long session of being grounded.

"You calling your mother a liar? Why, I ought to teach you two runts a lesson, you damn pups!"

And so Hana, upon opening the side door that led directly to the kitched, had born witness to the sight of her mother, clan head of the Noble clan of the Inuzuka, try to beat the living tar out of her children, which, due to their considerable experience, were doing an excellent job of avoiding. Hana had sighed softly and a smile crept over her lips. Just another normal day in the far from normal life of her family.

After the fight had calmed down and the kitchen, which had taken far more of a beating than the two children had, had been suitably repaired, Hana had whipped up a batch of her specialty ramen, which contained nearly more meat than noodles. Her brothers had set upon the meal with considerable gusto, while her mother sat back and ate at her own leisure, guzzling sake like it was water. Although even Hana had to admit that, from an outsider's point of view, her mother seemed to be an alcoholic and an abusive mother, she and her brothers knew that their mother loved them dearly, and everything she did with them (and to them in certain cases) was done out of the best intentions. As for the drinking... well, Hana hardly approved of that, but her mother had seen and done many atrocious and unthinkable deeds in her long life as a shinobi, and dealing with her problems by drinking was far better than turning to drugs or falling into a deep depression, as so many shinobi did.

Tsume could be a trial at times, but when it came right down to it, she was as solid and dependable as a rock, and she had always been there for her family.

As for Hana's two little brothers... She hated them with a passion, which was her right as an elder sister, but she couldn't hold a grudge against them to save her life. Annoying little pipsqueaks though they were, she loved the bloody bastards to death. But, she had sworn to herself, if she found them sneaking peeks at her diary one more time, there would be hell to pay.

After the meal had been concluded, and her brothers' insatiable appetite had been momentarily appeased, Tsume once more assumed her role of slavedriver, forcing the two boys to begin their homework immediately. Their cries for mercy had no effect on their mother, and the essays began to take shape, much against their will. But, true to their natural form, after the essays were complete the two Inuzuka brothers began to boast about their incredibe writing skills, displaying their essays with pride and deriding each other's handiwork. This, of course, had soon led to a brotherly tussle in the middle of the living room, which had resulted in Naruto bearing a hefty bruise on his stomach and Kiba sporting one hell of a shiner. Tsume had merely watched her children go at it with a motherly eye, but even her tolerance for their violence had a breaking point, and she had broken up the fight before serious damage had been done.

The two brothers had patched things up immediately, and within five minutes, it was as if the fight had never happened. So Tsume had taken the boys outside to train, and Hana made her own way out the back door, intent on greeting her partners for the first time that day.

And that was where she was now, standing near the dog kennels as the last rays of the sun disappeared from the sky. She stood there for a long moment, simply enjoying nature. She felt the rustle of the wind in her hair, heard the leaves dancing in the breeze, felt the grass beneath her bare feet, tasted the cold twilight air. And, all about her, she saw the beauty of Konoha as many of the Leaf nin never bothered to. This was one of the best parts of being an Inuzuka: thanks to their link with their animals, which in turn made them more than slightly bestial, the Inuzuka clan members enjoyed a special bond with nature that few others would ever have.

There was an old story passed down through their clan that this very bond was one of the reasons the Inuzuka were a noble clan in Konoha. The Senju clan, who had been led by the man who would become the Shodaime Hokage, had been on very good terms with the Inuzuka clan, who were also one of the more powerful clans of the era. Because of this bond, when the Shodaime founded Konoha, the Inuzuka were right there with him from the start, just like the other Noble clans had been. Her mother had never been the storytelling type, but when she was deep in the booze, she became slightly maudlin, and had sometimes regaled Hana with stories of her great grandfather, Inuzuka Inugami, who had been the Shodaime's greatest friend and ally, and whose power had been second only to the Shodaime's himself. That is, until Uchiha Madara turned up.

And to this day, the Inuzuka remained a loyal ally to the Shodaime's cause, and had served faithfully throughout Konoha's existence. It was true what the shinobi of the village said about them; they may fight like beasts (and, according to the more perverted shinobi, mate like beasts as well), but there was no companion more loyal and protective then an Inuzuka. As a dog was a man's best friend, any member of the Inuzuka clan could be considered a shinobi's greatest ally.

As Hana stood there, taking in nature through every pore, she truly felt proud to be an Inuzuka.

Now, to find _her _best friends.

Raising her head, she let out a harsh bark, modulated by chakra to carry the sound for a greater distance. After a moment of silence, she let out another bark. This time, she heard a bark in reply, and a grin broke over her lips. From the forest came the sounds of barking and howling, and before a moment passed a trio of hounds burst forth from the forest's edge, yipping in excitement as they bounded towards Hana.

She knelt down to greet them, but was bowled over by the exuberance of the dogs, whose sole intent was to like and nose her until she couldn't see straight. Not that she minded, of course; many of her best times were spent frolicking with these three, and the hours that they spent romping through the woods were memories that she would treasure forever.

But she stood up again after only a minute or two, intent on getting some training done before it was too dark to see, despite her enhanced vision. Looking down at the Haimaru brothers, she grinned widely as she saw the three wagging tails, showing that they were ready and eager for today's training.

"Alright, you three," she said to them, causing their ears to perk up in sudden interest, "it's time for some training! You guys ready?" There was a resounding bark from all three, and she smiled even wider. "That's the spirit! Okay! But, first of all, we've got to focus our minds! Sit!" Four rumps hit the ground simultaneously, three of them canine and one human. She wiped the grin off her face and closed her eye, stretching out her chakra in a search for the ever-present link between herself and the Haimaru triplets. She found it with ease; after the four years she had spent with these three, it was hard not to do so. But it still wasn't good enough for her; her mother had bonded so closely to her partner, Kuromaru, that it was often difficult for Tsume to tell where she ended and he began.

"Right. Why don't you three tell me how your day went?" There arose barking from all three canines, and she had to hush them quickly. "One at a time!" she laughed softly, "I can't hear all of you at once! Okay, Hikyuu, you're the oldest, you go first." The largest of the three barked and yipped enthusiastically, and Hana concentrated as hard as she could on his mind. It was easy for her to read their emotions, but her mother had told her that that wasn't near enough; her connection had to be at the point were she could understand what they were saying, down to the last detail. As his barking died away, she frowned and spoke slowly. "Um... you... chased a squirrel up a tree, buried... what, a bone of some kind?" There was a dissaproving growl from Hikyuu, and she tried again. "Um... something shiny... probably metal? Was it a kunai?" He yelped confirmation, and she grinned widely. "Okay, I think I'm getting the hang of this! You go next, Idaten."

The smallest stared at her with serious eyes. Contrary to his brothers, Idaten, who was the middle sibling, was the more serious type, whereas Hikyuu was playful and Koujin, the youngest, was timid. When he started his story, his barks were slower and his yips softer, as if he was concentrating as hard as he could on getting his point across to his human partner. She, in turn, focused on his speech with all her intensity. Not surprisingly, she had a much easier time understanding him. "Okay, okay, so you tried to stop Hikyuu from climbing the tree. It didn't work and he..." she covered her grin with her hand. "he tried to climb it? So he fell? What happened then?" She listened for a bit longer, then giggled before turning to Hikyuu with a playfully reproachful look. "Now, Hikyuu, you should've told me that!" The eldest dog looked slightly embaressed, hiding his face with his front paws. She turned back to Idaten and finished translating what he said, managing to correctly interpret the broad idea of what he had been trying to get across.

Then she turned to the youngest, who seemed to be whimpering slightly. He was the one she was worried most about; Koujin had always had considerable trouble trying to converse with Hana, and she wondered if there was something about his personality that stopped him from being able to completely share the bond they had. His brothers had no problem, but maybe that was because their personalities were far more like Hana's than Koujin's was.

But Hana was determined, and she knew he could overcome that obstacle in time. So she tried her best to get him to talk, and he tried to his best to communicate. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to understand more than a few ideas out of what he was trying to get across. But she didn't let that get to her; they had plenty of time to work on this, and she knew that he just needed time to open up more. She stood to her feet, followed by her dogs.

"Alright, guys. That's got the boring stuff out of the way. Let's practice some of our sweet tag-team tactics! Ready?" There was a resounding bark from the Haimaru siblings, and the four of them bounded off into the forest, ready to get their training underway.

Naruto watched from inside as his sister vanished into the forest, a look of jealousy on his young face as he saw her bonding with her dogs. He wanted to have a bond like that with a partner of his own one day, but his mom still wouldn't let him or Kiba get a partner. He was tired of being treated like a kid; he was more than responsible enough to get a partner! Why, he kept his room clean, didn't he? Well, mostly clean. Kinda. You could still see the floor! On a good day, at least.

This fact set him back for a moment, but he rallied quickly. Wasn't it better for him to get a partner as soon as possible, so he'd have more time to bond with it? That's what his mom had always said! So why wouldn't she give him a dog of his own? They'd be the best team _ever! _They'd kick everyone's ass, and then everyone at the academy would see how cool he was and everybody would like him!

That got him to thinking about the academy, and the friends he had made that day. He had had a lot of fun with the other kids, especially Shika. There was something about the lazy kid that Naruto found himself liking, despite the fact that he normally didn't like guys that were so laid back. Speaking of laid back... Naruto's eyes narrowed. What about those two kids that had stopped him and Kiba from fighting back then? He remembered their names vaguely. Shino and... Sasuke, he thought. Shino seemed like a kinda quiet and wierd guy, and Naruto wasn't really worried about him, but Sasuke... Naruto just didn't like him. He had no idea why, since the boy wasn't mean or anything, but there was something about him that rubbed Naruto the wrong way. He had asked his mom about Sasuke, and he had found out that the boy was an Uchiha, which automatically marked him as a bad guy in Naruto's books. His mom had an ingrained hatred of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga which had rubbed off on her kids, not to mention the fact that Naruto had had many bad experiences with members of both the clans. He frowned as he recalled one of the times he had seen Uchiha Itachi, the genius Uchiha who, despite being only eleven or twelve, was already in the ANBU.

"Naruto! Kiba!" His mother's loud voice shook him out of his reverie, and he left the window in search of his mother. He soon found her in the main hall of the Inuzuka clan, putting on her hated ceremonial robes with much muttered cursing and griping. Kiba popped his head out from the side corridor, looking askance at his mom.

"What's up, mom?" he asked. Tsume gave the two kids an exasperated look and beckoned them into the room.

"Eh, same shit, different toilet. The damn Hyuuga's wanna call a meeting about some shit or other, and I have to go, dammit." She sighed deeply. She didn't regret her decision to reclaim her clan's rightful place among the Noble Clans, especially since that had brought Naruto into her life, but she absolutely abhorred the ceremonial bullshit and long-winded speeches that came with it. "I'll tell you this, runts, there's absolutely nothing worse in this world than sitting through hours of meaningless bullshit in which people say a lot and at the same time don't do jack shit. Politics is a bitch, boys. Remember that little tidbit of wisdom." Naruto and Kiba shared a look. Their mother was in one of her moods. That meant that one of the other Noble Clans had done something to piss her off in some way, and she was trying to pretend she wasn't angry by acting bored.

"What's the meeting about?" asked Naruto.

She grunted under her breath as she adjusted the elegantly embroidered robe that she was wearing. "Hell if I know. People don't tell me shit." She sighed and turned away, checking her appearance in the mirror. Even she had to admit it; the robe was beautiful. It was done in earthy colors of brown and green, symbolizing the Inuzuka connection to nature, and there was a stylistic dog drawn on the back with the Konoha symbol emblazoned in gold on its back. Between its gaping jaws there was a silver moon, although why that was there was anybody's guess. Tsume was privately convinced that the man who had made the cloak had been paid by the hour, and was making the robe as intricately detailed as possible so he could make more money. But that didn't change the fact that she'd have to deal with Hiashi and Fugaku, and the idea made her even angrier than usual.

"Alright, kiddos, I'm off. Remember to hit the sack before midnight, got it? Hana told me she had to wake you two up; that better not happen again. Your sister has her own stuff to do and can't be expected to babysit you brats all the time. Got it?" The boys flashed her a thumbs up, and she smiled softly at them. For a long moment she merely stood and looked at them, her mind bringing up images of them in their early childhood. It seemed like only yesterday that they were bawling infants, demanding nothing less than her complete attention at all times. And now they were going to the Ninja Academy... She turned away and gruffly said her farewell, trying to hide her suddenly tearing eyes.

Her sons' farewells followed her out the door, which she closed roughly. She loved them so much. Not a day went by when she didn't thank the gods for the miracle that had been Kiba's birth, and then the even more impossible miracle that had given her Naruto. She didn't even want to think about what life might have been like without Naruto.

And yet, even now, those bastards were trying to take her boy away. Her dark eyes flashed, and she set off down the path with a determined tread.

If they thought that this latest attempt to divide her family was gonna work, they had another thing coming.

AN: Okay, as promised, the next chapter of Howl of the Kitsune. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and _please _leave a review. Every time I get a review, my will to write skyrockets.

Okay, I made the names for the Haimaru siblings myself. Hikyuu means "Warrior" or "Fighter", Idaten roughly translates to "Running Warrior", and Koujin stands for "Rear Guard". As for the whole section with Hana and them, as well as the Kakashi portion of the story, those are there because Hana, and Kakashi to a greater extent, will be key players in this story. So, in case you were wondering why in these early chapters I've focused a lot on people other than Naruto, it's because it's vital to develop their characters early on, since who they are will have an impact on Naruto.

If Tsume seems rough, well, that's because she is. Not only is she an Inuzuka, but she's a single mom, and I've seen single moms that can eat steel nails like popcorn. Yeah. Seriously. _Don't fuck with Tsume, she will chew you up and spit you out. _No foolin'.

Next chapter will be Tsume-centric for the most part; she'll be dealing with the Hyuuga and the Uchiha, and we'll get to see some flashbacks of Naruto's earlier childhood through her eyes, as well as some of the hijinks the other two Noble Clans have pulled. I've already begun construction, so you shouldn't have too long to wait for it. Next update for my stories will probably be the next chapter for The Bloody Mist; a bit of good news for those of you who have been waiting.

Oh, and don't forget to review! ;P

'Til next time,

Gaereth


	5. Chapter 5

Howl of the Kitsune

Howl of the Kitsune

Chapter 5: Politics? Who needs it?

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Disclaimer: Once more, from the top, with gusto. Ahem. Ladies and gentleman, I have the somewhat dubious honor of presenting to you yet another symphony by that ever so slothful composer, Gaereth. Ladies and gentleman: "I Do Not Own Naruto", in G minor.

AN: So, yeah, I went ahead and typed up another chapter. Not too long, but its something. It's kinda hard to find the time to write fanfiction, thanks to my efforts on writing my original book. But it hurt my soul to think of these stories just sitting there, rotting away. I couldn't help it. I had to write another chapter. So here it is. Hope ya like it.

Warning: Remember that this story is rated M for a reason. Exceedingly strong language ahead, folks. Protect your virgin eyes; if you've still got 'em, at least. If not, have a fuckin' blast. ;P

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The sun had long since set, and a nearly full moon was making its way through the sky before Tsume arrived at the Hokage Tower. With a small nod to the two Chuunin guarding the entryway, she climbed the stairs that led up to the Hokage's office, taking the steps two at a time. Nearly tripping over her robe as she took an extremely long step, she cursed at the stupidity of such a garment. Why on earth she had to wear this bastard son of a tent instead of her sensible and functional shinobi uniform was beyond her. It was probably political or something.

She growled and decreased her speed. After all, there was no point in hurrying. They couldn't start the meeting 'til she got there, anyway. Besides, who gave a shit if she kept the Hyuuga prick waiting? He couldn't do shit about it; she was the head of a Noble clan, albeit an unwilling head, and therefore just as highly ranked as he was. So he could sit there and wait, for all she cared. Same goes for that arrogant, crude, piece of shit Uchiha.

Fuck 'em. Both of 'em. She'd get there when she got there, and not a fuckin' second sooner. If they didn't like it, they could go fuck a duck.

If it was up to her, they'd both be strung up from the main gate by their guts for trying to take her son away from her.

She reached the top of the stairs and stalked down the hall, her teeth bared in a bestial scowl. This wasn't the first time Hiashi had tried this sort of shit. Far from it, in fact. She remembered that first year, when Naruto was still an infant, when they had come up with a new plot at least once a month, all in hopes of snatching Naruto away. They had tried digging up old laws, attacking her fitness as a parent, proclaiming their home unfit for the 'savior of Konoha', and various other underhanded tactics. Those bastards had even had the balls to claim that the Kyuubi could be released if not under the careful care of the Hyuuga or the Uchiha, both of whom had the capacity and the resources to ensure that the Kyuubi's chakra remained safely sealed.

But Sarutobi had sided with her, having seen her and Naruto's happiness with his own eyes. And so the other two Noble clans had been foiled over and over. But that hadn't been the end of it. When Naruto had gotten older, and he and Kiba had begun their escapades throughout the village, Tsume had made a habit of either keeping an eye on them herself or getting one of her old buddies to do it for her. And, funny thing, there always seemed to be quite a few Hyuuga or Uchiha about when her sons were out having fun. It was almost like they were waiting for a chance to snatch him away, or catch him in the act of doing something that could be blamed on the Kyuubi's influence.

That had pissed Tsume off royally.

Having just come back from an S-ranked mission, which she had completed long before her deadline, she had been walking back to her house when she had spotted a tall, slim Hyuuga outside of her compound. She had watched in growing anger as the Hyuuga had stealthily snuck into her compound, disappearing into the main house.

Then she had exploded.

She had dashed forward with all the speed she could muster, but it was unneeded. Kuromaru had made it back before she had, and the Hyuuga was suddenly thrown out of the clan compound with Kuromaru at his throat, ready to rip his jugular out if he made a wrong move.

But, of course, the Hyuuga had talked their way out of it. It just so happened that the man who had snuck into the Inuzuka compound was a member of the branch family, and that he had long harbored hatred against the 'savior of Konoha'. They claimed that the branch member had acted completely without the knowledge or consent of the Hyuuga main house, and that therefore they were absolved from all blame. The man was sentenced to twenty years in the shinobi prison, and Hiashi walked away with nothing worse than a small reprimand from Sarutobi for not keeping a close eye on the branch member in the first place.

He hadn't tried something like that since then, but that didn't put him in Tsume's good graces. Her dearest and fondest wish was to one day tap Hiashi lightly on the shoulder and, as he turned around, thrust a kunai into his crotch. Maybe even give it a good twist, just for good measure. After that, she'd beat six kinds of shit out of him; so far, she'd only ever seen four kinds, but she'd be willing to search for the other two, so long as Hiashi was her test subject.

A bloodthirsty smile split her lips apart, and her eyes glinted in the moonlight with sadistic hate. One day, she'd show that prick that she was no tamed dog, a domesticated beast with more bark than bite. That prideful son of a whore would find out the hard way that hounds have no mercy for their prey.

But until that day came, she'd be forced to dance to the fiddler's tune for a bit longer. At least Sarutobi was on her side, even if he was past his prime. He had a good bit of life in him yet, but one day he'd kick the bucket, and the fate of her son may will depend on the new Hokage. And if she knew Hiashi, which she wished she didn't, he'd try to insinuate himself into that role. As for Fugaku, his ambition for the position was plain. He stank with frustration and envy every time he looked at Sarutobi, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that the Uchiha bethought themselves the strongest in Konoha.

Fugaku might try something one day. She'd have to be on the lookout for that.

She jerked herself out of her muse when she realized that she was outside the door to Sarutobi's office. Straightening up, she smoothed her robes and hair with quick, practiced motions. She may hate formality and politics in all its despicable forms, but she was damned if Hiashi was going to look down his nose at her just because her robe was a mass of wrinkles.

She took a deep breath, schooled her face into an expression of utmost serenity, and relaxed herself. She reached out her hand calmly, preparing to open the door and step through with just the right mixture of dignity and indifference.

Y'know what? Fuck it.

She kicked the door down.

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Sarutobi sighed and glanced at the timepiece on the far wall. It was twelve past ten, now, and the meeting had been scheduled to begin at ten. Sarutobi was lenient about many things, but he had always been a stickler for punctuality. It was probably why Kakashi had never failed to get him riled whenever he showed up three hours late for his mission.

But he couldn't hold Tsume's lateness against her. After all, she had suffered through far too many of these sort of meetings, and he knew that she held no love for ceremony or formality. Besides… He didn't want to be here any more than she did. If only he could convince these two men to simply give up…

Shifting his position in the large wooden chair he sat on, he turned his attention to the other two occupants of the room. Hyuuga Hiashi, whose features had only grown more serious and stern in the past years, was scowling intently at the clock, his annoyance growing with each passing tick. Like Sarutobi, he believed a great deal in the importance of timeliness, and Tsume's tardiness lowered her status in his mind. Of course, since she was already somewhere below dirt and above cockroaches, that didn't make much of a difference.

But at least Hiashi was waiting, albeit not very patiently. Uchiha Fugaku, on the other hand, seemed utterly unable of remaining still. The normally stoic man was pacing restlessly back and forth the wall of the large office. His eyes glowed red with the Sharingan, as was his habit when angered, and he muttered darkly under his breath.

Sarutobi quirked an eyebrow. Somehow he didn't get the feeling that Tsume would receive a rousing welcome and a hearty handshake when she arrived.

Then the door burst open, and in strode Tsume, eyes flashing and face flushed.

Sarutobi couldn't help but smile. She always did have a flair for the dramatic.

Fugaku turned about with a start, hand reaching to his kunai holster. When he saw who it was, his body relaxed, but his fury grew noticeably. Hiashi had not moved a muscle, but his entire attitude turned from annoyed patience to utter disdain, and he looked at Tsume as if she was some unsightly creature that he had seen on the bottom of his shoe.

And Tsume? Well, it was safe to say that she was… less than friendly.

"You fucking _bastards! _You half-assed, needle-dicked, shit-brained, brown-nosing _bastards! _When will you leave us the fuck _alone?! _How long will it take for you two _fuckers _to get it through to your fucking _heads _that he's my fucking _kid?! _I swear to Kami, if you shits pull one more fucking trick out of your asses, I'm gonna kick your fucking asses from here to _Suna!_ So stick that on your dick and suck it, you horse-fucking impotent sacks of _shit!_"

She paused only to take a breath, but Sarutobi stood from his seat, halting her tirade with an upraised hand. She subsided, but it was plain to see that her fury was unabated. The elderly Hokage smiled at her, but with a slight rebuke apparent in his eyes.

"Now, now, Inuzuka-dono, I will ask you kindly to please refrain from such language. After all, this is a peaceful and cordial meeting, called by your peers, Hyuuga Hiashi-dono and Uchiha Fugaku-dono." He motioned towards the aforementioned individuals, both of which looked utterly furious, and then turned back to Tsume. "Come, let us all be seated and get this meeting underway. Shall we?"

Tsume grunted an acknowledgement and took a seat, making the oak chair creak in protest as she flopped onto it. Hiashi finally moved, leaning back in his chair and assuming an authoritative pose, suitable to his position as the head of the Hyuuga. Fugaku, although shaking with barely suppressed fury and aching to reply to Tsume in kind, knew better than to disobey Sarutobi; aged though he was, the Sandaime Hokage was still more than deserving of his title. He took a seat angrily and glared at Tsume.

Sarutobi sighed softly. Sometimes, he felt like he was managing children. Indeed, he remembered when all three of the problematic adults before him were barely able to crawl. He remembered when Uchiha Fugaku, always brash and egotistical, had accidentally pissed his pants whilst in the first year of the academy. He remembered when Hyuuga Hiashi, who had been as arrogant and proud as a child as he was now, had been chased up a tree by a stray dog when he was seven and had refused to come down for hours. He remembered how Inuzuka Tsume, who still sometimes acted like the rambunctious child he remembered, had snuck a jug of her father's strongest home-made alcohol, which also functioned as an excellent paint remover, into her academy class. She had been caught, of course, but only after she had sampled the alcohol quite liberally. It hadn't taken her long to feel the after-effects, but it had taken the janitor the remainder of the day to scrub the vomit off the floor.

He was getting old. He had seen a lot in his life; too much, he felt at times. He had seen children grow to become great men and women, skilled shinobi and talented kunoichi. And then he had seen them fall in battle. Generation after generation came and went, and still he remained, the sturdy pillar upon which the fate of Konoha rested. But he could feel himself weakening; he had been feeling it for years. When the diminishment of his skills had become undeniable even to himself, he had appointed Minato as his successor. But Minato had died, and now he was back where he started, feeling his strength slip away as the months passed, and worrying about what would become of the village he bore on his back.

But there would be time for maudlin later. For now, he had business to take care of. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, wincing as his back complained about sitting in one position too long. The Hokage chair, although majestically crafted and wonderfully durable, was not kind to him. Perhaps he could get a cushion or two installed into the old back-breaker…

Storing that thought away for later consideration, he addressed the three clan heads, once more speaking with the quiet authority that had served him so well throughout his years of leadership.

"So, the heads of the three Noble Clans are gathered. Each one of you is the descendant of men and women who were the Shodai Hokage's strongest and most loyal allies. As such, I know that each of you will act in a way that would do honor to your clan, and will accord your peers such honor as their merits deserve. Now, let us begin."

He turned to Hiashi and addressed the proud clan head.

"Hyuuga-dono, I believe that you had a proposal for us, did you not?"

"Indeed I do, Hokage-sama," stated Hiashi, his eyes flashing towards Fugaku, who sat on his left, and Tsume, who was on his right. Then he turned his attention to Sarutobi once more. "But before I can make that proposal known, there is a matter that has come to my attention which I feel should be addressed prior to that topic…"

Sarutobi sighed, resigning himself to his fate. Now that Hiashi had his ear, the Hyuuga head would talk for an eternity, speaking of all sorts of trivial yet possibly beneficial changes that should be made, and all he could do was suffer through it. As the Hyuuga droned on about shinobi taxation and mission dividends, Sarutobi noted that the other two Clan heads were entirely uninterested; Fugaku looked bored, yet slightly edgy, while Tsume merely simmered silently in her chair, glaring daggers at Hiashi. Thankfully, it didn't take too long for Hiashi to get to the main point of the meeting, and finally the Hyuuga head revealed his hand.

Apparently, he had been doing more scavenging in the Hyuuga libraries, which contained copies of every major and minor law that had been passed down from the Hokages since the formation of Konoha. Somewhere amidst that sea of legal jargon and techobabble, he had discovered a law that he was now trying to use to his advantage. Apparently it was illegal for a child of unknown lineage to enter the Ninja Academy unless the decision was authorized by two of the three Noble Clans, the village elders, and the current head of education at the Academy. Since it was obvious that Naruto had neither the Noble Clans' or the village elders' approval, and his lineage was completely unknown, he should not be permitted to enter the Ninja Academy.

Sarutobi watched in slight amusement as Hiashi turned that trademark smirk of his toward Tsume, who was seething in anger at this latest attempt to sabotage her son's life. It was sad that the man bore so much contempt and spite towards the boy, but it was would be interesting to see his reaction when he listened to what Sarutobi had to say next.

"…So you see, Hokage-sama," stated Hiashi, drawing his arguments to a close, "it is obvious to the meanest intelligence that the boy in question, Inuzuka Naruto, does not have the right to enter the Ninja Academy, and thus should be removed from it without hesitation." Hiashi folded his hands and sat back serenely, confident in his victory. It was apparent that he thought his argument to be foolproof.

He was quite mistaken, of course.

But why not see how this would play out? As a test of character, of course; not because he was bored. Far from it.

Maybe.

"I see…" muttered Sarutobi, his head in his hands. His voice was overlaid in tones of heartfelt sorrow. "Yes, I must admit, given the child's unknown lineage and the facts that you have laid before me, Inuzuka Naruto is not officially entitled to enrollment in the Ninja Academy."

"_**NO!**_" howled Tsume, on her feet in a flash. "You can't do this to him, old man! You know what being a ninja means to him! You take that away from him, and you might as well cut out his heart! Taking away his dream, his future, all because these pricks don't know who his parents are?! Fuck 'em! I'm his mother in every way that matters! I raised him since the day he was born, and I love the brat more than life! There's your fucking 'lineage'!"

"_Enough_, Tsume!" Fugaku shouted, shooting to his feet as well and squaring off with the furious Inuzuka clan head. "This is the law, as passed down from the Shodai Hokage himself! You cannot argue with it, and you cannot disobey it! Accept it!"

Hiashi rose to his feet as well, but far slower and more composedly than his peers. "Inuzuka-dono, I'm afraid Uchiha-dono is quite correct. There is no possibility of convincing the village elders to authorize his entry to the Academy. There is nothing we can do..."

Tsume exploded. "_**GO FUCK YOURSELVES! **_'Nothing we can do', my _ass_! _You've _already done plenty! Don't feed me that fucking _bullshit_, pretending to be on my side! All you've done, _both _of ya, is try to fuck up my son's life. So you can take your fucking law, shove it up your ass, and set that shit ablaze. So help me, if you actually pull this shit off, I will personally escort both of your fat asses to the gates of Hell _myself_."

"**Quiet, you miserable mutt**!" roared Fugaku, thoroughly enraged now.

"**FUCKIN' MAKE ME, YA GODDAMN PIECE OF HORSE SHIT!**"

He growled in fury, and his hands shot towards his weapons, his body going tense as he prepared to attack Tsume. But Sarutobi had seen enough.

More than enough.

"That is _enough_." He said it quietly, but with all the force and authority of a true Hokage. Instantly, the fight went out of them, and they retook their seats without a murmur. Sarutobi stared hard at each clan head in turn. He smiled at Tsume, letting her know that he was behind her all the way. As for the other two… Hiashi had played the game correctly, but Fugaku had overstepped his boundaries. He had actually tried to attack another clan head!

"Really, when will people learn to listen _carefully_? Hiashi," he said, dropping the formal tone, " I agreed with you in that, according to your argument, you were in the right to propose Naruto's removal from the Ninja Academy. However, there is a very vital piece of information that you do not know." He looked them in the eyes one by one, and sighed softly.

"Naruto's lineage is not unknown."

There was a shocked silence. Then Tsume spoke, her tone disbelieving.

"W-what? What're ya saying? He… has parents?"

Sarutobi let out a chuckle. "But of course he does, Tsume-chan. Everybody has parents." She flushed slightly, although whether it was out of embarrassment or because of the terrible joke, he could not tell. "But, no, his parents are not among the living, I am sad to say. However, his lineage is not unknown. Not only that, but you would be hard pressed to find a more auspicious heritage. Therefore, as that is no longer the case, that law no longer applies to Inuzuka Naruto."

"If that is the case," said Hiashi, his pale eyes darkened with suspicion, "then you will surely be able to provide proof as to the veracity of your claim. Seeing as you claim to know the boy's parents, I must politely request that you inform us as to their identities, so that we can know that justice is truly being served."

"Ah, Hiashi…" The grizzled Hokage raised his finger in mild rebuke. "While I admire your tenacity, I'm afraid I must refuse to tell you."

"And why is that, pray tell?"

"Why, because I promised, Hiashi! Surely you understand that a man's word, once given, is his bond, do you not?" Sarutobi's grin took on a mischievous look, and Hiashi's glower became far more pronounced, irked at being treated in such a manner. Tsume looked like she had been shaken; all this time, she had never thought of Naruto's biological parents, and to find that not only did Sarutobi knew precisely who they were, but had deliberately kept the information from her, struck her speechless.

But the Uchiha clan head was not at all ready to give up.

"Sandaime, I protest!" snapped Fugaku, shocked at how quickly Hiashi's argument had been undermined, but not quite ready to throw in the towel. "You say that you know of his parents, but how are we supposed to know? Are we just supposed to take your word for it?"

Sarutobi met his eyes evenly, his smile suddenly looking far more dangerous and much less friendly. "Why, yes, Fugaku. I do expect you to take my word for it. After all, I am the supreme power in this village, am I not?" Fugaku clenched his fists tightly, and suddenly the room was awash with killing intent.

"No. You're not. You're just an old man with foolish ideas about peace, dreaming about the 'golden days'. You don't deserve to be the Hokage. A Hokage should be a devouring flame, a power unlike anything ever seen. A Hokage rules his people with might and fills his enemies with terror. The naive and foolish ideals of the Senju have gone on for too long! It should have been the Uchiha who came into power, not that clan of peace-loving tree-growers!"

Utter silence reigned throughout the office.

Tsume had no idea how she should react. Half of her was screaming at her to move, to attack, to kill for insulting her leader in such a fashion. The loyal dog in her wanted to protect its master. But the human in her was overcome with shock. She was simply unable to believe that Fugaku had said what he had said, implied what he had implied. If she didn't know better, she'd think that he was contemplating committing treason! But that couldn't possibly be true. Right?

The Uchiha had been there from the beginning! Oh, sure, they had been rivals with the Senju clan in the old days, but that changed after Konoha was established and the Shodai's rule confirmed. The Uchiha had been his faithful supporters! Well, not Madara, but that was because he had been a battle-thirsty brute by all accounts, never happy unless wading through an ocean of blood.

How could Fugaku _say _that? How could he even _think _it?!

She glanced at the Hyuuga clan head, looking for his reaction. But Hiashi simply sat, perfectly still, visibly neither for nor against what Fugaku was saying. Of course that was so. He was completely unwilling to allow anything Fugaku might say or do effect the Hyuuga clan negatively. That was the white-eyed bastard all over.

And Sarutobi? Sarutobi suddenly seemed far sadder than Tsume had ever seen him before. Every part of his body seemed to droop, as if some unknown hand had reached out and stolen away his bones. His lip was quivering, and she thought she saw a tear streak down one cheek. It was as if he was a father, waiting and hoping that his prodigal son would one day return, suddenly discovering that his son had died in a ditch.

Fugaku merely stood there, his rage leaving him as quickly as it had come. He seemed to pale slightly, as if he had only just then realized what he said. But then his jaw clenched and his eyes hardened, glinting red with the Sharingan.

Tsume watched in stunned silence as the Uchiha clan head bowed stiffly to the Sandaime Hokage, said a quick apology, and vanished into the night.

* * *

For a long moment, no one said anything. Then Hiashi slowly rose to his feet, preparing to leave.

"Wait a moment, Hiashi," said Sarutobi softly, "I need you two to listen for a moment." The Hyuuga clan chief sat down again, his pale eyes strangely attentive and understanding. Tsume blinked. This was a side of Hiashi she hadn't seen before; she was so used to him playing the antagonist that she had forgotten that he was human, too, with good sides to him as well as the bad.

After a long moment, Sarutobi finally spoke, his voice now fully composed.

"Inuzuka Tsume. Hyuuga Hiashi. Seeing as you are both heads of Noble Clans, I deem that it is only right to reveal this information, previously only known to myself and the Council, to you both. Will you listen."

They gave their silent assent, and Sarutobi nodded, staring them in the eyes as he spoke on.

"Good. Now, as you have just seen, Uchiha Fugaku has shown himself to be in possession of certain ideals that can be harmful to the village. While that in and of itself is not a problem, it becomes one when those ideals begin to be carried out. I have recently received information from a trusted source that the Uchiha have decided that only one of their numbers can be a true Hokage. This is partially because of their bloodline limit, the Sharingan, and the fact that many of the greatest shinobi that this world has ever seen have come from the Uchiha family."

"Again, that belief, if not carried out, is permissible and unworthy of reprisal. But they've gone too far. I have received confirmation from an operative within the Uchiha ranks that they are preparing themselves for a hostile takeover of the administrative center of Konoha. Being already inside the village defenses proper, they and their allies plan to start fires and explosions at different points in the city to serve as distractions, whilst their main force attack the Hokage Tower. They plan to kill me and take the council hostage. All of this is to take place at a date yet to be determined, but almost assuredly before another year is out."

"We will strike first. Uchiha Itachi, a prodigy of the Uchiha clan and a loyal captain of the ANBU Black Ops Assassination Corps, will take it upon himself to eliminate the Uchiha clan. This is to happen at a time and place of his choosing."

Tsume and Hiashi stared at him, equally disbelieving expressions on their faces.

"The Uchiha clan… traitors?" Tsume muttered under her breath, unable to really grasp the concept.

Sarutobi sighed and turned away from them, going to the window that overlooked the city. The moon shone brightly down on the city, and its silver rays cascaded over the Hokage Mountain, throwing the stone-cut faces into sharp relief. Sarutobi gazed at the faces of his predecessors and felt the sorrow cut into his heart like a knife. A lone tear streaked down his cheek, falling to the floor with a splash.

"Shodai-sama. Nidaime-sama. Minato-kun. I'm sorry…"

* * *

AN: Okay, so, kinda short (only about 5000 words), not really much action. Just moving on to the next arc of the story, and letting Tsume be her awesome self at the same time. If she seems a bit coarse to you, then I challenge you to raise three kids, two of which are trouble-making brats like Naruto and Kiba, and come out of that as pure as the driven snow. Can't be done.

I don't like Hiashi much, but I do respect his political astuteness and his intellect, so I'm not gonna get rid of him or bash him all the time like I've seen in other stories. However, Fugaku's gotta go. Never liked the bastard much, so he's out. ;P

Oh, and the whole Uchiha mess? Not really gonna go into any detail with it. I'm actually thinking about skipping past the whole thing, since it really won't be affecting Naruto much. Got another time skip coming up in a chappy or so. So look forward to that.

Here's to a quick update. I've already started working on the next chapter for this story, so it shouldn't be too long. Just couldn't seem to stay focused on my book. Goddamn plot bunnies running around, muses hanging on the doorbell day and night… Can't get a lick of real work done to save my life. :(

'Til next time,

Gaereth


	6. Chapter 6

Howl of the Kitsune

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I arose this morning and discovered a small slip of paper, lying beside my cup of morning tea, a small note. On this note was written a small disclaimer, that read as follows: "I do not own Naruto or any characters attached with that series. I only own my original content." Bit of a nasty shock that was, I can tell you.

AN: So, here we are again. Over two years. The face of the Naruto fandom has changed quite a bit since last I was here. I see a lot of new faces, new pairings and new adventures. Let's see if these old fingers still have their magic…

* * *

Naruto and Kiba trudged along the dusty road, twin grimaces of distaste on their childish features. It wasn't hard to understand why; the day was a particularly hot and humid one, of a type that made one's clothes cling irritatingly to the skin, and the sun beat down mercilessly. Mosquitoes and other such insects clamored around them in great numbers, causing no small amount of irritation. Added onto that was the rather embarrassing fact that they had forgotten to bring their lunches to school that day, what with the haste of their departure to school that morning, and it isn't hard to understand why these two hellraisers might be a bit bad-tempered.

However, that wasn't what was really bugging Naruto.

What the _real _problem was, as far as Naruto was concerned, is that he considered himself to be an utter failure.

Naruto grimaced as he squashed a particularly persistent insect with an unerring blow, deep in thought. He was going over the events of the day in his mind, his mood worsening steadily as he did so.

The day had started just the same as always. Kiba, who had recently turned nine, and Naruto, who was soon to follow, had been awoken by their alarm clock. Following their usual morning routine, they had smashed the thing into silence and gone back to sleep; at least, that was the plan. No sooner had the thing gone off than Tsume had appeared at their doorway looking weary, haggard and spitting fire in a rather amazing fit of fury. Not that that was wholly unusual; she was often grouchy, and even her greatest admirers could not have called her beautiful with complete honesty. No, it was the fact that she was up with the sun that had shaken them; it was her custom to awaken some six hours after dawn, around that most holy hour of Noonish.

This had nonplussed them, and understandably so, but not as much as the fact that, underneath her anger, they could sense some form of genuine sadness. They didn't ask about it, of course; young and foolhardy they might be, but _not _suicidal. So they had forked down their breakfast in record time and had bolted out the door, quickly putting the whole experience behind them.

Once they had gotten to school, they became a little depressed themselves. As the students gathered into the place of learning, preparing for another day of learning, the two brothers figured that it would just be another boring day of history and math. They were in this school to learn how to kick ass, damn it! Who gave two shits about what daimyo made a peace treaty with who a hundred years ago? As far as they were concerned, the only good thing about the Ninja Academy right now was the fact that it gave them time to catch up on some much needed nap time.

But then the day took a turn for the better. Iruka, having arrived exactly on time like always, had announced that they would be putting aside the course material for the day and begin learning a real ninjutsu. This had excited Naruto to no end, and Kiba had been ecstatic as well, eager to learn something that had some real value. After all, they had been doing basic chakra molding exercises daily over the last year or so, and it was about time they took advantage of that!

The jutsu was, they learned to their delight, the Henge no Jutsu, otherwise known as the Transformation technique. This jutsu was an illusion which, when used properly, made the observer perceive the user as whatever the user had chosen to disguise himself as. It's main usage was to disguise one's appearance by altering the structure or distinctive markings of their bodies, but there were many sorts of unusual ways in which this jutsu could be used; for example, when hiding in a woodland area, one could make themselves appear to be a bush or a small tree, thereby eluding detection.

To the two pranksters, already known in the village as the Brothers Dim by those who liked them and as the Hellhounds to those that didn't, this seemed a godsend.

And then their day had gone to shit.

Iruka had brought them all down to the center of the classroom and set them to learning the technique. Showing them how to properly mold and utilize their chakra, he let them give it a try, asking them to transform into his likeness. And the results? The class genius, Uchiha Sasuke, that gloomy drama queen whose traitorous family had backstabbed each other to death, got it right the first try. The first goddamn _try_.

After that, of course, they had to listen to the ecstatic fawning of Sasuke's little fan club, all gloating over their idol's success and each trying to catch his attention. It had taken Iruka a few minutes to get them to calm down and get back to work, but that had been enough to sour Naruto's mood substantially. After that, he dedicated himself to mastering the technique, trying to force the chakra to cooperate, to bend it to his will.

It hadn't worked very well.

As the hour for lunch had drawn closer, and the number of students who were able to make passable transformations had grown, Naruto had found himself becoming more and more frustrated with his lack of success. In fact, he had felt like it was getting harder each time he tried, no matter how much effort he had put into it. By the time lunch had rolled around, he had been one out of only four people who hadn't gotten the jutsu down; the other three were Nara Shikamaru, who had somehow managed to doze through the exercise while standing up, Suigenchi Matoko, a red-haired kid who was too busy talking during class to even bother paying attention, and Akimichi Chouji, who was far too busy munching on his chips to focus. And even despite that, they had been able to manage at least a partial transformation. Well, except Shikamaru; he had not even bothered to try.

As the lunch bell rang, and the students had raced off to the courtyard with lunches in hand, Naruto had turned to his brother Kiba, who had barely been able to pull off a passable transformation about ten minutes beforehand, and scowled darkly.

"Damn it, I can't get this Henge thing at all! I keep pushing and pushing, and I can't get the fucking chakra to do what I want!" He kicked moodily at the floor and shoved his hands moodily into the pockets of his tan cargo shorts. Kiba looked at him and opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something detrimental about the blonde's skill, but shut it without speaking. Annoying though Naruto was sometimes, they were still brothers, and they had a connection deeper than most siblings did. Kiba knew that this was one of those times where he should keep his mouth shut and just let Naruto work through it.

"Don't let it get to ya, Kiba. Hey, where did you stick the lunches?" Naruto's head jerked up quickly.

"Eh?" He queried wordlessly, confused. "I thought you grabbed 'em!"

"_What?_" yelped Kiba with considerable agitation. He was a growing boy, and as such had his stomach high on the list of his priorities. The loss of a much desired lunch, especially after a day of taxing chakra control, was too much. "Are you telling me ya didn't bring the goddamn lunches with ya? You asshole!"

"Hey, it isn't my job to grab your lunch for ya! Besides, I don't have my lunch either, so don't get all fucking bitchy, jerk."

"Go fuck yourself," Kiba had growled, turning away from his brother with an angry snarl. "You can't even do one fucking jutsu, so don't get all high and mighty on me, you prick." Naruto had flushed darkly at this, but Kiba couldn't have cared less at that moment. "Whatever. I'm gonna go find me some chow. Later, loser." With that, he had stalked angrily away, leaving Naruto shaking with rage, both at his brother and his own inability.

Suddenly, he had felt a tap on his shoulder and had turned around angrily. It had been Shikamaru, suppressing a yawn and scratching his neck lazily, with Chouji at his shoulder, already munching on another bag of chips. Naruto hadn't been in the mood to deal with anybody, but he found it hard to be mad at Shikamaru; the bastard wouldn't even notice if Naruto yelled at him, lazy as he was. Besides, they'd been pretty good friends ever since that first day of school, and Naruto knew that the Nara was nowhere near as dumb as he let people believe.

"Having some trouble, Naruto?" Shikamaru had asked lazily.

"No way! I'll have this jutsu down in no time!" Naruto had shouted, pumping his fist in the air. Shikamaru had merely blinked at him, unimpressed. Naruto had paused for a moment, remembering that the Nara disliked Naruto's energetic style of talking, and had toned down the exuberance; it had been mostly fake, anyways. "Yeah, a little, I guess. But I'll get the hang of it. I just can't manage to make my chakra do what I want."

Shikamaru had shaken his head slightly and muttered a low 'troublesome', causing Chouji to grin at his friend's slothfulness.

"You're putting too much effort into it, dumbass. You've got to relax and let the chakra flow. Try to force it too much, and it's only going to get more troublesome." Naruto had looked slightly confused at the idea, and Shikamaru had sighed and glanced quickly about. Once he was sure that only himself, Naruto and Chouji were still in the room, he sighed and clasped his hands together into the Ram seal, molding his chakra.

Then, with a sudden rush of air, Shikamaru had disappeared, replaced with a mirror image of Iruka. Naruto's jaw had fallen to the floor in amazement. So far as the blonde had seen, the only difference between his friend's illusion and the real thing had been the attitude; no matter what Shikamaru looked like, he couldn't help but notice the lazily slumped shoulders and the bored eyes. The fake Iruka had tilted his head to the side and smirked at Naruto.

"Henge no Jutsu… Success."

"Bad_ass_," Naruto had whispered, watching in awe as Shikamaru dispelled the illusion. "You got it right the first time. And you did it just as good as that Uchiha bastard."

"Dumbass," Shikamaru had retorted with feeling, punching Naruto's shoulder lightly. "Don't group me in with him." Naruto had grinned widely at this remark, returning the punch. There were only three people in the Academy class that Shikamaru got animated about: Ino, who he avoided like the plague, Chouji, who he viewed as his closest friend, and Sasuke, who showed off far too much for the Nara's liking.

"C'mon," Chouji had said loudly, clapping a beefy hand onto Naruto's shoulder and smiling, "let's go get some food. Shikamaru's treat." The Nara had muttered darkly, but with a smile on his face, and Naruto and Chouji had laughed together as the three walked off towards the Academy cafeteria.

The rest of the day had gone uneventfully, but Naruto, despite Shikamaru's advice, had never managed to get the jutsu down at all, and had received a failing grade for the exercise. Of course, that didn't bug him much; he had gotten many such low marks in the time spent at the Academy. No, what irked him was that this was the first official jutsu he had been taught, and he had blown chunks at it. Hell, not only that, but he was the only one in the class who hadn't even been able to get the basics down.

That fucking sucked.

And now, here he was, going home in this damned heat with these fucking bugs swarming all over the place, his brother still slightly pissed about the lunch fiasco and his heart heavy at his own failures. All he could do now was pray that Tsume had a mission today; the later she heard about this, the better.

Without warning, he was jolted out of his train of thought by a low, rumbling noise. He glanced up and noticed Kiba, hands curled into fists at his side, staring angrily down the road and growling furiously at something or other. He trudged a few more paces and came to a halt just behind his brother's right shoulder, his head craned slightly as he scanned the horizon…

'_Oh, fucking hells. Not this again.'_

Not fifty paces ahead, there was a small gaggle of girls all crowding around someone. They were all young; the oldest amongst them couldn't have been more than fourteen, and the majority of the lot seemed to be around his own age. He scowled. For that matter, more than half of them were girls in his class. Which meant that they could only be here for one reason…

"Oh, this shit is just golden," he muttered darkly to himself, glancing at his brother. Kiba didn't even seem to notice; all of his intent was focused on one individual. Just then, there was a sudden parting in the flock of females, and the center of that storm of prepubescent attraction came into view. He was dressed, as always, in one of those dark, hand-me-down shirts with the tall collars. His dark hair, pale skin and brooding stance combined to present a rather dark and mysterious figure; a fact that made the girls swoon and the boys rage.

It was Uchiha Sasuke, the one and only boy prodigy of Konoha, the sole surviving descendant of that ancient and powerful clan of warriors and Konoha's newest heir to the heart-throb crown. To Naruto, however, he was nothing more than a great, big arsehole with a stick the size of a redwood tree jammed in it, and Naruto could feel his hands clenching and unclenching in furious frustration.

"It's that bastard again," Naruto growled angrily to Kiba, his eyes focused on Sasuke with a heated intensity. "Everywhere he goes, he gets people falling over themselves to suck his dick." With a scoff, he made to turn away, but was halted by a scathing remark from Kiba.

"Fuck that guy," Kiba bit out between clenched teeth, his fingers arching and spasming as if he was gouging a certain person's eyes. "I'm sick of him, I'm sick of his bullshit, and I'm sick of his fucking attitude. The _fuck _does he think he is, huh? The fucking Hokage?"

"Whoa," Naruto replied warily, surprised by the vehemence Kiba was showing. "I hate the bastard too, but what the hell was that?" Kiba said nothing, but Naruto pressed the issue. "Seriously, where did that come from? Why-" He broke off suddenly, a flash of yellow having caught his eye.

There, at the heart of the bevy of broads, was a slim, blonde girl with her hair tied back in a ponytail. She was dressed rather fetchingly in a purple top and a small matching skirt, her head cocked prettily to the side as she stared adoringly at Sasuke's profile. She was holding on to his left arm with both hand and batting her eyes at him in what she must have thought was a flirtatious manner, but which Naruto could only see as nauseating to the extreme. Of course, it could only be one person: Yamanaka Ino.

Once, Naruto had been fond of Ino. Why? Well, she had balls, for one. She was never afraid to speak her mind or tell someone off; hell, there were times when she'd used words he'd never heard, and that was saying something considering Tsume's immense vocabulary of oaths and curses. They had never really been friends, but they had respect for each other, even if it was mingled with a mutual feeling of irritating annoyance.

And then… the Massacre happened. After that, Sasuke changed. Naruto had never gotten along with him before that; in fact, he'd hated the pretentious bastard. But Sasuke had been a decent guy before that, despite his arrogant tendencies. But after the Uchiha Massacre, the Sasuke that Naruto had known became a different creature altogether; uncaring, stoic, driven and hard. He treated everyone with the same cold attitude. He was indifferent at best, and furiously spiteful at worst. Every word he spoke dripped with a venomous sarcasm that never failed to piss Naruto off something fierce. Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru… for that matter, most of the boys in the class hoped he'd just fall down a flight of stairs and break his fool neck. Some were even willing to help him do just that.

But the girls thought it was amazing. It made him cool and sexy and strong and brave and damaged and dangerous and hot and… the list went on. Nearly every girl in the class wanted to be the first to heal his broken heart, to be that special person that turned his sad and hopeless life around and gave it meaning. Or maybe they just wanted to fuck him. Naruto didn't know, but what he did know was that any girl that wanted to be in Sasuke's good books at that time decided that the best way to do that was to tear down their idol's rival. Which, apparently, was Naruto.

And Ino _really _wanted to be in Sasuke's good books.

Almost overnight, Ino, and at least half of the other girls in their class, turned against Naruto and, by extension, many of the other boys in their class. Naruto had gone from the class prankster and joker extraordinaire to a pariah amongst his peers, something to be hated and reviled at every opportunity. And Ino knew all of his buttons, and she took sadistic pleasure in pushing them.

As a result, he'd lost all respect for the 'Uchiha Fan Club', but the worst one of all was Ino. He tried his hardest to ignore her after that, but he couldn't resist rising to her barbed insults, and at least three times a week they had a raging bitch-fest in the middle of class. On top of everything else, she'd stopped training with them and, from the sounds of it, had almost stopped training altogether! This, to the workaholic Naruto, was tantamount to heresy.

Baring his teeth slightly, he laid a hand on Kiba's shoulder, startling him out of his rage-induced stupor. The elder Inuzuka jumped, let out a guttural groan out of frustration, and turned away, shoving his hands on his pockets. Together, the two of them made their way back down the street, opting to take the long way 'round rather than deal with the snide Uchiha and his giggling gaggle of girlfriends. This was a battle that just wasn't worth the fight, not after the day they'd had.

That is, until the battle came to them.

"Inuzuka," came the voice from just behind them as a hand grabbed Naruto's shoulder. Naruto jumped, startled, and whirled around as quick as he could, knocking the offending hand away with a yelp of astonishment. He growled and bared his teeth at the mysterious assailant.

"…the _hell _do you want, bastard?" The words came out in an odd, guttural fashion; a trait he'd picked up from his elder brother. His blue eyes flashed in anger as he stared down the newcomer.

Uchiha Sasuke merely scowled in response, staring right back at him. He said nothing for a long moment, standing there and eyeing Naruto with a cold detachment, as if he was judging him on some esoteric quality. The Uchiha looked annoyed by something, and his stance showed annoyed reluctance. None of this mattered to Naruto; it merely served to add fuel to the fire that was burning in his chest. Gods above and below, how he _hated _this guy.

"Don't you talk like that to Sasuke!" Naruto blinked and grimaced as another newcomer made her entrance. Ino strode into his view, hands at her hips and eyes narrowed in disapproval. She continued her unwanted admonishment. "He's twice the ninja you'll ever be! Anyways, he was trying to do you a favor, so show some thanks, dammit!" She turned to Sasuke and her tone adopted a sickenly sweet quality. "I don't know why you bother being nice to Naruto, Sasuke. That mutt doesn't deserve it!"

"What the fuck did you just call me, you shit-faced moron?" Naruto roared as loud as he could, holding his fist in the air and shaking it at Ino. That word was taboo, and she knew it! She just laughed at him, pointing a finger as she taunted him.

"Aw, look, Sasuke! The little puppy is barking at us! Isn't that just adorable?" She laughed again, louder, knowing that she was pissing Naruto off and not minding in the least. Naruto opened his mouth to put her in her place as best he could, but Sasuke, who had been ignoring their little debate, decided to speak.

"…Inuzuka," He said, holding up his hand. "You dropped this on the street." Naruto looked at him blankly and then glanced at Sasuke's hand. Clutched in those thin, pale fingers was a familiar scroll, green with orange lining. It was Naruto's scroll; one he'd written in earlier that same day, in fact, and it held all of his notes he'd taken on the one jutsu they'd been taught and what little information he'd managed to pick up about manipulating chakra. Next to ramen, it was the nearest and dearest thing to his heart. And that bastard Sasuke had it in his hand, holding it like it was some foul piece of trash he'd picked up out of a gutter. Naruto made to snatch it back, but Sasuke was quicker.

"Give it _back_, Sasuke," he growled, making another grab for the scroll. But, as much as he hated to admit it, Sasuke deserved his title of prodigy, and Naruto was no match for the black-haired boy's speed.

"Some ninja you are," replied Sasuke, tossing the scroll idly back and forth between his hands as he stared down Naruto. "What kind of shinobi loses things in a street like that? I don't think you deserve this scroll. You can't even do a jutsu." Naruto flushed with anger and made a grab for the scroll again, but Sasuke slid out of reach, balancing the scroll on a finger.

"Give it back, Uchiha," came Kiba's voice as the Inuzuka stepped forward, holding a hand for it. His face was once again flushed, showing that ever-present hot temper that was a trait of their family. Sasuke ignored him entirely in favor of Naruto, and Ino stepped forward to stand in Kiba's way.

"Stay out of it, Kiba," she demanded, arms spread to block his advance. "Get your dog nose out of Sasuke's business." Kiba's face went from red to purple, but he suddenly stopped, not even saying a word. An odd expression on his face, he stared at Ino and remained where he was. That distraction aside, Sasuke addressed Naruto once more.

"Don't bother trying to get someone else to fight your battles, Inuzuka mutt. If you want this scroll, then act like a ninja and take it from me." Sasuke tossed the scroll nonchalantly and caught it behind his back without looking away from Naruto, black eyes cold and a small smirk on his face. "That is, if you _can_."

Naruto let out an unintelligible shout of anger and balled his hands into fists. Fuck this Uchiha prick. He'd show him a thing or two. Just because he couldn't do jutsus didn't mean he couldn't kick seven kinds of shit out of this arrogant asshole. Teeth bared, he lunged forward, pulling back his right fist for a sucker punch.

A hand caught his fist and yet another familiar voice made itself known.

"Naruto! What have I told you about fighting?" Umino Iruka lectured, adopting his usual 'Teacher Voice' as he pulled Naruto away from Sasuke. He raised a finger and shook it in front of Naruto's face in well-meaning authority. "No more of that, you understand? I know boys will be boys, but there's no sense in fighting each other. We're all on the same side, after all!" He smiled disarmingly at Naruto, who couldn't help but deflate a bit under Iruka's good-tempered rebuke. He opened his mouth to protest, but Iruka shushed him with another wag of his finger. "No, no, I don't want to hear it just yet."

"Can't even handle your own problems without Iruka to bail you out…" muttered Sasuke darkly, his smirk reverting instantly to a scowl. Iruka rounded on him and his smile seemed suddenly less genuine.

"Sasuke, I've warned you time and again about that attitude. I understand, but I won't allow it. Now, that scroll is Naruto's, unless my memory fails me. I trust you were about to give it back to him?" Iruka's voice trailed off in a strange, dangerous manner that made Sasuke's scowl grow in intensity. Iruka was clearly in no mood for backtalk, and not even Sasuke would cross him willingly when their teacher got like this. With a grumble of disappointment, he tossed the scroll at Naruto, who caught it clumsily.

"Whatever," muttered Sasuke, turning away from them. "It's not my fault the mutt's stupid." Iruka frowned in disapproval and opened his mouth for another lecture, but Sasuke was already walking away. He sighed and glanced at Ino, and there was an odd look in his eyes.

"Yamanaka Ino, I did not care for the way you acted back there," he admonished in a stern tone. "I thought you were more responsible than that. Not only did you not do anything to stop this situation from arising, you went so far as to prevent Kiba from stopping it himself! What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?" Ino groaned and rolled her eyes, pointedly looking away from Iruka. He wasn't pleased with that response, but decided to let it go for now. "…Very well, then. If I see more of this sort of behavior from you, I'll have to speak to Inoichi about it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sensei…" she muttered angrily, before turning away and running off after Sasuke. Iruka watched them rejoin their group and move away with a sigh before turning around and addressing the two Inuzukas.

"Naruto, Kiba, I know you have your problems with Sasuke, and I sympathize, but I will not tolerate fighting amongst comrades. It runs against everything that our village believes in! As a shinobi in training, you should know better than to-" He lectured them loudly, but Naruto broke into his diatribe.

"But, Sensei, Sasuke was the one picking a fight with me! I didn't-"

"That may be the case, but you were the one who threw the first blow, Naruto! It's your job to be the bigger man in these kind of situations." Naruto withered a bit under the force of Iruka's sudden vehemence. Iruka saw this and sighed again, wearily, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Naruto, I understand it's hard and it's not fair. But so are many, many other things in life, especially the life of a shinobi. You need to understand that just because it's hard doesn't mean that you should do it anyways. Understand?" Naruto nodded, and Iruka smiled. "Besides, it's like your mother always says. You never start a fight…"

"…But you always finish one. Huh, didn't think you were paying attention, Umino." Iruka started and whirled around, hand reflexively reaching for a Kunai. Inuzuka Tsume snickered a bit at his anxious reaction but waved him down, striding forward towards the Chuunin and the two boys. She nodded at Iruka, fangs glimmering in the sunlight as she smiled at the teacher. "The boys didn't bother you much, I hope?"

"No, ma'am," he shook his head and rubbed his scar a bit anxiously. Tsume always made him a little scared when she was about. "Just teaching them a life lesson. One that I hope they don't forget." The last sentence was directed at Naruto, who grunted and kicked at a stone. Kiba merely nodded vacantly, his mind clearly elsewhere. Tsume grunted in much the same manner as Naruto and waved her hand at Iruka.

"Fine, fine. Anyways, I gotta get these boys home. Got some training to do and such. See ya 'round the block, Umino."

"Uh…" Iruka blinked twice, a bit perplexed by the sudden dismissal. He nodded and reflexively stood to attention. She was, after all, a Jounin, and a Clan Head to boot. "Yes, ma'am!" That said, he held up a hand in a half-Ram seal and vanished in a whirl of leaves, leaving Tsume alone with her two sons. She looked from one to the other in knowing appraisal.

"…So. Do I even want to know what went down?" Kiba just shrugged, still distracted, while Naruto bit his lip and said nothing, still fighting off what was left of his anger. She sighed and idly craned her head to crack her neck before she spoke again. "C'mon, brats, we're going back to the compound." Naruto and Kiba nodded, but Kiba noticed that she had an odd look in her eyes.

"Uh, Mom? Something going on?" He asked her, far more restrained than he'd been all day. Naruto blinked and glanced at Tsume, noticing her expression as well. She looked at them both again, longer this time, and sighed once more, that strange look in her eyes more pronounced than ever. She finally cleared her throat and straightened her back, gazing at the pair of them with intensity. They noticed her seriousness and mimicked her, returning her gaze with their own as they gave their mother their full attention.

Another long moment, and she nodded, her lips twisted into sad smile.

"It's time to finally welcome you into the Inuzuka clan."

* * *

AN: So, a small cliffy there, I suppose. I think you'll both love me and hate me next chapter. Although, quite frankly, it's nothing compared to the cliffy I left you all with back in '09. Well, I can't say that I'm back in full fanfiction action, but at the very least I am alive and writing once more. I plan to only update this story and, maybe, The Bloody Mist as well. I made the amateur mistake before of having far too many stories that were WIP, and I plan put all of my focus into these stories. I hope this update pleased, and I apologize if it felt a bit out of whack. I'm still rusty, and it may take a chapter or so before I get back into my swing. As always, feel free to let me know what you thought. I hope to update before another week has gone by. I'll keep you posted and keep on posting.


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